True Harmony
by game84cube
Summary: A new girl comes to GC's school and he recognizes her without hesitation. The gang from game84cube's original story True Potential meet famous Japanese Vocaloid, Miku Hatsune, and GC immediately falls for her. Cute moments, awkward moments, and touching moments are all over the place. Action, romance and comedy are all here. An alternate reality from True Potential.
1. Chapter 1: The Meeting

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 1**

I was always intrigued at how life can change for different reasons. God seems to have a reason for everything, but it's hard to find the reason for his work. I especially know this because of the people that are in our lives. Friends always come and go, but only great friends and relationships can last forever and last through thick and thin. I can say that my life had certainly changed after a meeting that was completely by chance, but all that happened with us felt like fate. My name is Peyton, but they call me GC, and this is the story of how my life turned upside down all because of one girl.

About a month passed after I defeated my dark side, and everything was finally dying down. Things were finally back to normal, well except for my girlfriend breaking up with me. She wanted to avoid anything too crazy happening again and I agreed that it would be the safest for the both of us. It still hurt, but we're still awesome friends. Relationships may fade, but friendship never dies.

Alright, enough back-story, let's get into the story. It all started on a normal morning where nothing could have happened easily. After heading to my locker, I ran into a friend with some rather interesting news.

"Hey GC, there's a new student in school!" Rick, my best friend told me with a rather excited tone in his voice. Rick is very different from any other guy you could ever meet, mostly because he isn't human. Rick is an alien from the planet Lineria, and he reigns from afar as the rightful king. He left his home planet so he could continue life on Earth, but he still keeps in touch with his planet to make sure everything was okay. His mother is the acting monarch there, but Rick is called upon if there's ever an important decision to make.

"That's cool and all, Rick," I began, "but I doubt that it calls for THAT level of excitement."

"Well, I hear that it's some girl from Japan. I thought it'd be cool to meet someone from another country."

"I thought that once before, but then I met a guy from another planet, so that just kind of blew that out of the water."

"Really, who?" I glared at Rick, amazed at his stupidity. "Oh wait…"

"Yeah, now you get it." We laughed a little bit and then explored the hallways, anxious to meet this new girl. "Where should we look for her?"

"I heard that she has a locker downstairs, let's try down there." Rick suggested. We then made our way to the lower level of the school to find her. This would prove to be a difficult task since the entire hallway was pretty much flooded with students.

"Man, this is gonna be like finding a needle in a haystack. I bet we could find Waldo before this chick." I complained.

"She really shouldn't be too hard to find, I heard." Rick tried to console me.

"Fine let's just go." We went into the hallway to look for anyone unfamiliar. Suddenly an unusual trait rang true from someone reaching into her locker.

"Um, I think I found her, dude." I told Rick.

"Really? How do you figure?" Rick replied.

"Well it's not that hard to tell because no one I know has blue hair that goes all the way to her friggin' shins!"

"What now? She's really got hair like that?"

"I shit you not, Rick, that is a lot of blue… actually it's more of an aquamarine kind of color." Once I managed to get a good look at her, something about her seemed familiar. It was so familiar that it unsettled me to no end. I thought about the different features that she possessed and processed these to find a match. I thought about it for a minute or so, and suddenly it dawned on me! I was stunned for a few seconds as I tried to process this.

"Um… GC?" Rick looked at me in my stupor and tried to snap me out of it. "You alright there?"

"DUDE!" I suddenly snapped out of it. "I think I know who that is!"

"Are you sure about that?" Rick looked at me quizzically. "Have you met her somewhere before?"

"No, and this could probably be an imposter, but we should get a closer look to double check."

"Uh, dude, that sounded wrong."

"I'm aware, but I just want to see if she isn't some chick in a costume." We went over slowly and carefully to avoid detection. The first thing I examined was her attire. It was quite eccentric for a school outfit. I would try to experiment with my outfit too if I didn't need a uniform after so many years. The clothes were a definite match, with a tie that matched her hair, a sleeveless collared shirt, a skirt that was a darker shade of gray than her shirt (that was easily up to fingertip length, and for the record we weren't incredibly close, so we aren't perverts,) and the sleeves that she wore were detached from the shirt and started in the middle of her arm for some odd reason. One detail that sealed the deal was that there was some kind of high-tech screen of some sort in there, which I could see because it was flashing. My mind was reeling. She was slowly matching each detail that she is accredited for. I then saw her eyes and noticed that her eye color matched her aqua color scheme, and that they seemed indeed natural, somehow. I was somehow convinced, and I grabbed Rick and we retreated.

"Okay I'm convinced that it's her!" I concluded.

"Well now that that's settled, could you please stop grabbing my shirt? It's getting a little awkward." I apologized and released my grip. "So who is she?"

"I'm still not entirely sure, but my guess is that she is a famous Japanese pop star." I suggested.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Have you ever heard of Vocaloid?"

"Uh I think you may have showed me something once, so what?"

"Well she's one of the Vocaloids."

"What? That's ridiculous."

"I'm not entirely sure, just like I said, but it could be her."

"Well why don't you go talk to her and remove tension?"

"Are you kidding? I can't talk to her. She's both famous AND pretty." I started sweating a bit.

"Just go talk to her. What have you got to lose?" Rick seemed a little annoyed.

"Any shred of dignity that I can retain with her, any respect she may have for me, and the potential for a friend." I quickly responded.

"Just go, damn it!" I then had to agree and I walked toward her. I kept thinking to myself

_I'm walking._

_ I'm walking._

_ I'm walking._

_ I'm… turning around._

_ I'm chickening out._

"Wow dude, that was smooth like sandpaper." Rick laughed.

"Fine if you think it's so easy, then you go talk." Rick agreed and walked toward her. I followed behind him at a distance to avoid detection. I noticed that Rick seemed like he was starting to sweat a little. He made it to her as I hid behind a corner to track his progress.

"Um… hi." Rick said slowly. The girl turned to him. She seemed even cuter when she looked at you. Apparently Rick felt the same way. "Oh wow…" And all of the sudden he fell backwards and fainted. She just looked down at him like she did something wrong, and as for me, I face-palmed just for him being so lame. I went up and used this opportunity.

"You were saying something about being smooth as sandpaper, Rick?" I went up to them to help Rick up and then I decided to save our first impression from going down the drain. "Sorry about him. His heart is incredibly frail, and he gets excited really easily. Just do the math." That got a good laugh out of her.

"So what's your name?" She asked me. I was surprised for a second, but I regained my composure and got my head on straight.

"I'm Peyton, but people call me GC." She seemed confused.

"Why do they call you that?"

"I… don't really remember. I just think it sounds cooler. And you already saw the fainting wonder here. His name is Rick."

"Well it's very nice to meet both of you." She bowed her head to us. I think that's the Japanese equivalent of a handshake, or a show of respect.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name." I said, even though I had a good idea as to what it was.

"Oh right, my name is Miku." My suspicions were slowly becoming correct. I was able to look a little closer at her and the hair was indeed real, for I didn't see a line for a wig. It was impressive, but surprising to see someone who I always thought was only visible as a hologram.

"Wow, pleased to meet you." I finally said. "So you're the new girl around here."

"Yep. I'm glad to be here, but it is a little tough finding my way around here." Miku said.

"Wait, you don't have anyone showing you around?" I was shocked, because there's usually someone helping new students.

"Someone helped me find my locker and that was it."

"Well that sucks. I could help you find your way to your homeroom if you want. Maybe by then someone will be there to help you out."

"Okay, that sounds good, I guess. I don't wanna trouble you."

"No trouble at all. We have some time, so I'd be happy to show you to your class. Besides, do you honestly think it would bother me if I offered?" She laughed a little, and then she reached into her bag to fish out her schedule.

"Here you go." I looked at her first class and I was incredibly surprised.

"Well now, ain't this a small world? This is our homeroom." I think both Rick and Miku were just as surprised as I was.

"Are you serious, dude?" Rick asked.

"See for yourself, man." Rick looked at the list and saw that I wasn't lying.

"That sounds incredibly convenient." Miku jumped back into the conversation. After those formalities were taken care of, we were on our way to the classroom. On the way, I kept trying to pinch myself to wake myself up from this dream. I never thought I'd ever end up getting to meet the actual Miku Hatsune, let alone actually walk with her and talk to her. I tried my best to not look at her, but my mind was still in disbelief about the whole ordeal. Judging on how she looked, she certainly wasn't a cosplayer, for the hair was real, and I also noticed that her eyes looked a little more like lenses of a camera. That pretty much sealed the deal for me. We arrived at the classroom, introduced Miku to the teacher, and then allowed her to get situated. Rick and I left the room for a brief moment to recollect.

"Whoa, I can't believe it. She's amazing." I couldn't help but say.

"Heh, you like her, don't you?" Rick jested.

"What are you talking about? You're the one who fainted right in front of her when she looked at you." I retaliated.

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Not a chance." We laughed and then went back into the class. I was still surprised about Miku, but I was starting to get used to the idea that she was attending school with us and that I actually got to meet her. Okay, it's still a hard thing to process.

When we got back to homeroom, I could tell that this was the start of something incredible.


	2. Chapter 2: Miku on Tour

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 2**

Our time for homeroom had finally dissipated and then class was about to start. Before beginning, our teacher was preparing to introduce Miku to the class. She stood and bowed in politeness. A lot of students were incredibly surprised by her. Many jaws hit the ground just at the sight of her. I have three theories as to why this happened. My first is that people recognized her, but that's rather unlikely because mostly people who like anime tend to listen to Vocaloid music. Second, her appearance is very eccentric, and people probably reacted to the fact that there was a girl in their class rocking long, aquamarine hued pigtails that went to half her shins. Third, the guys were probably reacting to her just because they thought she looked hot. Guys in my school tended to be that shallow. My reaction was more towards the first two, just for clarification.

"Now do you have a student showing you around school, Miss Hatsune?" Our teacher asked Miku, getting her name right after butchering it the first time.

"No, should I have?" Miku replied. Our school has an interesting method of showing new students around their new surroundings. Instead of a teacher or faculty member showing them, a student gives them the tour. I myself am part of this service, and I even offered to show where the buses are, which is something that was never thought of before I got there, but I found that it was no big deal to find buses.

"Well, yes you should have someone showing you around. Is there anyone here that would like to-"

"I volunteer!" My hand shot up almost instantly. Being the only member of my class who does student tours has its perks every now and then.

"Mr. Foote, you wish to be her tour guide?" My teacher seemed shocked.

"I would be honored, sir." I heard a few snickers in the back. I probably was laying it on a little too thick.

"Okay, is that okay with you, Miss Hatsune?"

"Sure. I mean he already helped me find my way here, so I won't mind him helping me out some more." Miku smiled at me. I could feel my face heating up. Rick looked up at my embarrassed expression.

"Hey GC," Rick chuckled, "Your face is matching your shirt again."

"Shut up, Rick. You fainted when you tried to talk to her, remember?" I retorted

"…Sorry for offending you." Rick said slowly. Miku then proceeded to take the seat next to mine, which she obviously took because she wanted to keep her tour guide near her. It was still nice all the same.

Class began and we began to take notes. I found it hard to concentrate because my focus kept drifting towards Miku, mostly with disbelief that I actually get to help her and just that she was right there next to me. I eventually snapped out of it and went back to my notes, but she was still in my mind. In each break of the notes, my eyes kept moving toward her. I can't really explain what kept this going.

Class finally let out and once Miku and I got our stuff together, we prepared to get a move on to the next class. "So where are you headed next?" I asked her, dreading her being in another class with me, for if she was, I doubt I'd ever focus again.

"Um, hang on a sec." Miku reached into her bag and recovered her schedule. She looked at it quizzically, obviously questioning how the schedule worked. She handed it to me, hoping I could make sense of it. I looked and was mildly relieved that she didn't have the same class. I showed her down and then went off to my own class. The funny thing was that even though she wasn't there, I couldn't get her out of my mind. I shook it off and got back into the zone. After class let out, I met up with Miku to show her to the next class. She didn't have any other classes with me for a while, so this cycle went on for another three periods. Lunchtime was where the combo ended up breaking.

The lunch bell rang and Rick and I were ready to eat. "Alright, it's time for lunch!" I exclaimed.

"Finally, I'm starving!" Rick followed up. We started on our way, but then I remembered I had to find Miku. I was running late to find her and I was worried that I lost her in the crowds. I grabbed my lunchbox quickly from my locker and I bolted down the stairs to meet up with her. To my surprise, I found Miku waiting by her locker.

"Hey, what are you waiting for?" I asked.

"I was waiting for you, silly." Miku replied. "I don't know where to go, so I just waited for you to show up." I was flattered, but I had a job to do. I looked at her schedule and was surprised and a little bit happy to see that she had lunch with us as well. She got a box out of her locker, no doubt concealing her lunch. "Shall we then?" She asked me, with a mild giggle.

"Alright, let's go." And we trekked to the cafeteria. Once we entered, we were instantly bombarded with a huge wave of noise from everyone talking at their tables. Suddenly a powerful stench reached our section of air.

"Oh geez." Miku relented at the aroma. "What the heck is that?" I then took a large whiff and the odor was easily discernible.

"Oh God, it's beef stew day." A mild amount of fear overcame me, but it was no big deal, since I bring my lunch to school every day now. I saw Rick at our usual table. We had to make friends with other people since we no longer shared a lunch period with our other friends, and we were lucky to find a few guys who let us hang with them. I sat down and I even offered Miku to sit down with us. We didn't have too many people, so there was no problem. She a little confused as there was no open seat at our table.

"How can I sit with you guys if there's nowhere for me to sit?" She asked.

"Is she serious right now?" One guy at our table asked.

"You can just get a chair and sit in that from another table." Someone else stated with a mild huff in his voice.

"Hold on, I gotcha." I reached behind me and snagged a chair for her and put it next to me. She sat down and we prepared to eat. Everyone at the table, including Rick, all ate the school's greasy excuse for beef stew. Everyone ate with grimaces on their faces.

"So how's the food, guys?" I asked with a smirk, feeling lucky that I bring my food.

"Fuck off, dude." Someone said, and we all laughed. Miku still seemed a little concerned.

"Why are you guys laughing? Do you guys hate each other?"

"No we're fine." I explained. "We just mess with each other to have some fun. We're still fine." She still didn't seem to understand, but she just rolled with it apparently.

"But yeah, this food is disgusting. I think I found a hair in my stew." We all grimaced at the questionable quality of the meal.

"Good thing I packed an extra sandwich for you." I gave Rick the spare peanut butter sandwich from my bag and he was able to enjoy lunch for once. Well sort of.

"Dude, how much peanut butter do you put on this thing?" Rick asked, his words a little muffled through the thick amount of peanut butter.

"Hey it's a new thing of bread, so it makes it hard to judge how much I put on." We laughed a little bit and then we continued eating. I couldn't help but look at what Miku was eating, because it did seem rather interesting. I saw a very colorful array of different rolls of sushi, meat, and veggies in a very presentable fashion. "Wow, that bento looks pretty cool." I couldn't help but admit.

"Thanks, I made it myself." Miku replied.

"No way, I can't believe you did that yourself." I was in awe at how everything looked.

"What, you don't think I can cook?" She seemed like she was offended.

"Well, no I just didn't expect something so impressive."

"Sure, well thanks anyway. You wanna try some?" She offered.

"Um, okay why not? What should I try?"

"Try this one." She passed me a roll with tuna and something green in the middle. I thought nothing of it and ate it.

"Wow, that's pretty good." Suddenly I felt something burn in the back of my mouth. "Uh, what was in that roll?"

"It was tuna and wasabi." Miku looked at me with a strangely evil looking smirk. I couldn't yell at her for trapping me because my mouth was on fire. Wasabi is a really hot spice that could put a man to tears if eaten carelessly. I snagged some milk from Rick and pounded it down to knock out the burning. Everyone was laughing pretty hard, especially Miku. Something tells me she wanted something like that to happen. I recovered and looked up at her. Boy I was angry.

"That…wasn't…funny!" I slowly said in a very angry tone.

"If it wasn't funny, then why are we all laughing?" Miku replied with a chuckle. I couldn't help but laugh as well. Lunch pretty much ended without a hitch and then we went on to our next classes.

The day went on without anything else too impressive taking place, and then the bell rang for dismissal. I went to find Miku so I could show her to the bus. Even though the system was simple, I felt like I should help her out. I mean if she had trouble figuring out her schedule, then I think she would need all the help she could get. We met up and we ran to her bus. She walked towards the door, but then she turned around for a second.

"Thanks for all your help today." Miku told me.

"Uh no problem, I'm happy to help." I replied, feeling my face start to burn. She giggled a little bit.

"I'm happy I met someone nice like you, too." She went on.

"Um…" I stammered. She then pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it quickly. Once she finished, she handed it to me.

"Text me sometime, okay?" I looked down and I saw that she had handed me her cell phone number. To make sure it wasn't fake, I read it back to her wrong. Once I heard her correct me, I knew it was legitimate.

"You got it. I'll see you tomorrow." I said as she boarded her bus. I then turned and ran for my own bus. Once I made it to my seat and sat down with Rick, we were able to reflect on what happened today.

"What kept you, GC?" Rick asked me. "Usually you're the first one here."

"I got sidetracked." I said as I was inputting Miku's number into my contact list of my phone.

"What's that?" Rick asked as I handed him the paper. Once he saw it, his jaw almost hit the floor. "YOU GOT HER NUMBER?"

"Uh huh, she thanked me for helping her and then she gave it to me."

"That's awesome, dude!" We talked about it for a while and then the bus let us out. We parted and went to our homes. I couldn't believe that all of that happened today. Something tells me that Miku and I will end up being good friends.

I guess you never know what the future will bring.


	3. Chapter 3: A Surprising Proposal

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 3**

My mind was reeling about the new girl at school today. I couldn't really concentrate on anything else, for I just kept going back to that mindset. I was honestly a little worried for some odd reason. I think I was starting to like her, but I've dealt with stuff like that and it always ended up badly, so I didn't want to think of it that way. I went to bed that night and she was even in my dreams. It wasn't anything to worry about too much, but it was just us together. I woke up before anything had the potential of happening.

"Well crap, I think I'm in love." I said to myself. I wanted to keep this one to myself. People find things out way too quickly in school and I didn't want to be ridiculed for this. I went to school and I just kind of buried all of it in my mind. Rick and I went down to see Miku again and suddenly my heart skipped a beat.

"Hey guys." She greeted us with a smile.

"Hey Miku, how's it going?" I asked, mainly asking to see if she understood how things worked in school thus far.

"It's okay, but what's up with this whole '6-day cycle' thing?" I could see where she was coming from. Our school goes off of a system with a 6-day cycle, so every day is possibly something different. Since she wasn't too sure about her scheduling with the six days, I decided to help her yet again.

"The days of the cycle change each week. Today is day 2, so mind if I see your schedule again to make sure if there's anything different?" I asked and she agreed. She gave me the paper and I scanned it for the information, and as I suspected, her electives shift between the days and her study hall classrooms also change.

"So what do I do, GC?" Miku asked.

"Just stick with me. I can help you out again today." I offered. "You know eventually you'll figure out the pattern here, but until then, I'll walk with you." Miku seemed amazed.

"Wow, thank you GC. Thank you so much." She was very happy and I couldn't help but feel a little sheepish.

"Heh, any time, my friend." I said with a mild chuckle. We then went upstairs to get to homeroom, but then we ran into two guys which I haven't seen for a while. One sported a leather jacket, long black hair that even covered one eye, a chain from his pants, torn jean legs, and a skull necklace, and the other one wore a leather jacket with the sleeves torn off and had a blonde mullet to attempt to make himself seem tougher. In that order, their names were Allen and Levi. We aren't friends, but we don't hate each other. It's complicated.

"Hey, if it isn't Rick and GC, our favorite chumps. How the hell are ya?" Allen asked us in his usual powerful tone. Levi chuckled a bit.

"Oh we're fine, the day's been good so far." I replied.

"Yeah, and then you showed up." Rick commented.

"Whatever." Levi said back, and we all laughed a little bit. I failed to notice that Miku had fallen a little behind, but once I saw the guys' expressions, I knew that she had caught up to us. Levi grabbed me by my collar and yanked me toward him. "Dude, who is that?"

"Maybe if you let him go, I'll tell you myself." Miku replied for me. Levi obeyed and released his grip. He wasn't hurting me or anything, but it was nice to have control again. Miku introduced herself to Allen and Levi, and right away, Levi tried to go for her. Levi is a self proclaimed playboy, but he recently lost his touch, probably thanks to me. About two years ago, Levi was quite the catch for the ladies, and he was also a heartbreaker. He sure caused my heart to break when he took Kaylee, my now ex-girlfriend, away from me. At a party that was held, we had a huge fight outside, and after I won, he left the premises and… well that's a different story. After those events, Levi's credibility pretty much went down the drain, mainly because if I could beat him to a pulp, then he must not have been that cool. Apparently he still didn't get his spell back.

"Wow, you look amazing." He said with an alluring tone. No homo, I swear.

"Uh, thanks I guess…" Miku said slowly. Normally I'd be worried in a situation like this, but she didn't seem interested and I've seen Levi fail numerous times, so the outcome was evident.

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen anyone like you before." I've heard him use this before.

"Um…" Miku stammered a little, mostly because she seemed weirded out.

"Hey, maybe we can do something sometime?" God, he's pathetic, isn't he?

"I'm sorry, but I have plans with someone else." I was shocked at this, but I expected this to just be bullshit. Most girls make up excuses to get away from him. I should know. I dealt with that for years.

"Whatever, it's your loss, babe." Levi walked away, looking like he had a shot to his pride, but I still feel like he won't stop until he's back on top.

"Is he usually like that?" Miku asked the three of us, still with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep." I replied.

"Oh yeah." Rick followed.

"Big time." Allen concluded.

"Well okay then. Should I be worried?" Miku asked us another question.

"I don't think so." I took this answer. "After he messes up once, he tries someone else. He's used those lines a million times. I think he's built up a desperate looking reputation, huh?" We laughed a little and then continued.

Allen asked the expected questions about Miku, like where she was from, when she got here, and all that jazz. Allen was once a complete douche and didn't care about anyone but himself. After recent events (which are once again a different story,) he mellowed out and started to care for other people, and even became something like a friend to us. We still have our scraps, but it isn't as cut-throat as it was before. We're rivals, and I couldn't have it any other way. We said goodbye to Allen and we went onward to our class. I couldn't help but think of what Miku said to Levi to get him to piss off, and I just couldn't keep my curiosity in check.

"So what was all that about having plans?" I asked suddenly.

"Oh, that? Yeah, I pretty much just lied there." Miku answered, and I felt strangely relieved. "I wanted to put him down easy. I didn't want to hurt him, you know?"

"Please, he's been there a million times." I explained. "You could have just said 'Piss off, you creepy pervert!' and he would have been okay with it."

"He isn't kidding." Rick added. "I remember him actually getting told off just like that and he pretty much shook it off. I guess he's one of those guys who says there are other ones out there."

"But anyway, you seriously didn't plan anything?" I was anxious.

"Uh, no. How come?" Miku asked.

"Well, I mean we could hang out this weekend and we could do whatever you wanted. Sound good?" I gave the proposition.

"Are you asking me on a date?"

"What? No, I just want to do something with you as friends. Nothing more…" I think my face turned bright red.

"Well, okay then. I'll be free on Saturday. Is that okay?"

"Sounds great!" Rick and I lingered in the hall as Miku went into the classroom.

"Jumping the gun a little bit there, huh?" Rick asked in a jest.

"Shut it. I just wanna hang out with her and show her some of what we do." I replied quickly.

"Whatever, dude. I know you like her."

"I'm not even going to try to deny it this time, Rick. You're that observant."

"Big time, bro."

"Tell her and I kill you."

"I swear to keep this one secret. You have my word." I had my doubts on his promise. Rick told Kaylee how I felt about her, but that was mainly when I was dealing with that stuff with Levi. Let's just say I was mildly uncomfortable about the whole situation.

"Alright, I'm trusting you, man."

"Hey, maybe you can bring her by and we can show off our band?"

"Oh, that's not a bad idea." That's right. I have a band. We're called the "True Shredders," and it consists of Allen on guitar, Rick on drums (and yes, we've heard all of the jokes about a stick-man playing the drums,) Levi on the turntables, and I am the singer, but I dabble with the key-tar in case someone else sings. "Who knows? Maybe she'll want to help us out."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, she is a singer after all. Maybe she can help us with our songs and perhaps we can even play some of hers." I will admit to being a huge fan of her music, and being able to sing with her would be a dream come true.

"Okay then, but why wait for Saturday? You could bring her by after school." Rick proposed.

"Yeah?"

"Sure, I mean Allen and Levi already know her. It'll be kind of cool." I agreed to the terms after Rick explained his reasoning. We went to class and before the bell rang, I relayed the proposition to Miku herself.

"So does it sound like a plan? We could meet up after school and I'll bring you down."

"Sounds pretty good, actually. I'm surprised to hear you have a band." Miku told me. I was honestly used to it by this point. Most people are surprised.

"Okay then." And the plans were set. I couldn't believe that we were going to hang out sooner than expected.

Somehow in my life, however, one must always expect the unexpected.


	4. Chapter 4: Shredding the Songs

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 4**

The day was dragging even slower than usual. Even the classes I legitimately enjoyed were dragging to a snail's pace. I could understand why. The sheer excitement of our afterschool plans was enough to keep me on edge. I still helped Miku around the school, and somehow that further exalted my anxiety, even if we didn't mention anything about it. The periods slunk through the day, except for lunch, which always went exceedingly speedy. The day finished off and I met up with Miku to walk her out to her bus. Somehow she seemed reluctant to get on.

"What's the matter?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure why I have to get on my bus and then have to walk down to wherever you guys meet up to practice." Miku explained. "Why can't I just take your bus and I'd get off where you would and we'd walk down together? I mean, it's not like I live that far. What's the difference?" I could see her point, and I couldn't help but give it a shot.

"Well we could try anyway." I suggested, secretly hoping it would work. "Follow me, my bus is this way." We boarded and of course Miku was stopped by the driver.

"Hey, you're not on this bus." He said. "Get back to your own." Miku stammered a little bit. I stepped in quickly.

"Don't you think it's a little late for that?" I said in defense. "The busses are all about to leave. She can just get off where we do. She said she lives sort of close to where we do." We kind of have a closer community. I could get anywhere on my bike or scooter, or even a simple walk. After I mentioned where I lived to her, Miku was surprised to find out that I pretty much live about two blocks away. This argument was fair game.

"Alright, fine. I'll allow it for now, but you better remember to get on your bus from now on. I'm not doing this all the time." The bus driver relented and allowed her a place. Thankfully, there was a seat behind where Rick and I usually sit, so we could talk more about the band.

"So you guys formed a band, huh?" Miku asked us as the bus pulled out. "Are you guys popular?" Rick and I looked at each other.

"Nope." We said together.

"Have you even had a concert?"

"Not really." I began. "We've performed for our friends, but that's about it. We don't really want to go big."

"Okay, so what music do you play?"

"We're a cover band. We play songs that other people have already sung. I guess that's one more reason to stay small." Rick replied.

"Are you guys good?" We looked at each other again.

"Well, kind of…" We simultaneously answered. I then explained a little better.

"Allen plays the guitar, and he's not too bad at it. Rick plays the drums, and man he can keep a beat. Levi is on the turntables and he mixes our sound too, so he's got it made. I sing, but that's about it." I was a little embarrassed about this.

"What's wrong with singing?" Miku seemed puzzled. "Are you a bad singer or something?"

"No, he's fine. Out of all of us, he has the best voice, but…" Rick started, but then trailed off.

"I can't play anything else." I admitted. "I mean, I dabble with the key-tar and keyboard a little bit, but that's all I got. I'm not even that good at them."

"I see. Well don't worry too much about it." Miku said. "I'm sure your fine with what you can do."

"Thanks, but I'm sure that everyone else is way better than I am when it comes to instruments. Besides, I'm also sure that you'll be playing with us, right?" I asked.

"Uh, sure." She seemed so surprised. "I didn't really expect you to want me to help out."

"Are you kidding?" I beamed. "I've heard you before. You're an amazing singer! It'd be awesome playing music with you." It almost felt like an honor. She is famous after all.

"Well, alright then, I will if the rest of the band will have me." Miku agreed and our plans were set in motion. We arrived at our bus stop and exited the smelly sweatbox on wheels. Miku of course followed us off because of our agreement. We then walked along the road to where we practiced. We continued until we came upon an old looking shack that was once a garage. Sure enough, I saw our friends Allen and Levi, all ready to play. When they looked up, they were legitimately surprised at the third person following the two regulars.

"Uh, hey Miku." Allen began. "What're you doing here?"

"GC and Rick invited me." Miku responded. "They told me you guys had a band."

"We're not so much a band." Levi joked. "We're more like four guys making noise in an abandoned garage so we don't disturb the neighbors."

"We ARE a band, dude!" I lashed.

"Chill, I'm joking." We laughed a bit, and then the questions to Miku began again.

"So, you here to hear our stuff?" Levi asked.

"Well, I was also invited to sing a little bit." She answered.

"Wait, what? You sing?" They both seemed shocked.

"Of course. I love singing."

"Plus, I believe I mentioned that she's a famous singer in Japan…" I added, feeling like I've been ignored.

"Well fine, let's hear what you've got. Sing something for us." Allen suggested the challenge, which Miku gladly accepted. She stepped in front of us all as we settled in to hear her music. She then pulled out a pair of headphones with a microphone on it. I recognized them right away, as they were a trademark part of her look. I remember once thinking that they never came off. Hey, anything's possible with an android, right?

She thought for a moment, and suddenly she came up with a song to perform for us. The four of us were all rather confused, but soon we were met with her sweet sounding voice. She was able to stay on key incredibly well, and somehow she was able to make chords with her own voice. Once again, she's an android, so it wasn't TOO surprising. Her range was rather high, much higher than most women I've ever heard sing, but it seemed to suit her well. One downside to her singing is that she could only really sing in Japanese, which made sense considering her origins. Somehow, I was able to recognize the tune she was singing. Perhaps I listen to too much of her music. She finally finished and was met with a dumbfounded crowd. I was the first to stand.

"I told you guys she was awesome!" I said as I applauded.

"I know, man, that was nice." Rick followed, also clapping.

"Not too bad at all." Allen commented.

"Just… wow." Levi was still rather entranced. To this day, I'm still not sure if he was hypnotized by her singing or if he was still struck by her looks.

"Thank you so much." Miku smiled and blushed a little. Obviously she wasn't used to getting such praise from just a few people. She's used to crowds cheering for her, but not a few simple people.

"Are you alright? You seemed a little nervous." I asked.

"It's nothing, GC." Miku tried to reassure me, even though I wasn't buying it. "It just felt harder trying to sing in front of people who I just met and could probably judge me."

"What's so wrong with that?" Allen asked.

"Yeah, I thought you did concerts all over Japan." Rick added.

"Well, they can decide for themselves whether they like me or not, but if I know the people I perform for, and I just met them, I get nervous, 'cause I don't want them to judge me the wrong way."

"Hey now, we've all been there, Miku." I said, attempting consolation. "I've been called all the names in the book and it's put me down quite hard."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I've had it hard too." Rick chimed in. "Being an alien is tough, so you can guess what people say to me."

"I'm called a gothic freak who looks like he'd kill anyone. I don't do that at all!" Allen mentioned.

"As for me, I've been called a pimp and some dumb playboy who only wants the women's body." Levi said as well, even though it seemed more true than anything we've mentioned.

"So you see, Miku that no matter what people say about you, there are always people you can count on." I concluded the pep talk.

"Wow, so everyone gets judged every now and then, I guess." Miku said slowly. It didn't seem to be a fear of hers, but more of a mild discomfort. I can understand. She just met us all and we expected her to do something that puts herself out there. It was a little daunting for her.

"So what do they say about you?" Rick blurted out in curiosity.

"I-I would hope they wouldn't say anything about me!" Miku looked so worried. Suddenly a loud smack was heard.

"Shut up, Rick." I said as my hand followed through the attack on the back of Rick's round head. "We just went over this."

"Hey it's no big deal, really." Miku seemed to want to keep the peace between us. I'm starting to wish we met her sooner. We could have used a social counselor.

"Well anyway, just know that no matter what, you always have us as your friends." I said.

"Really? You guys are my friends?" Miku seemed strangely shocked by this.

"Sure thing." Rick said.

"Hell yeah." Allen added.

"Are you kidding?" Levi continued.

"Of course we're your friends, Miku." I finished it off, "What else would we consider you?"

"I don't know, but I didn't expect to have such good friends so soon."

"You met me and Rick on your first day in school. I felt like we hit it off pretty well that day. Not to mention I was the guy who volunteered to help you around the school. Any other schmuck would have stood down, I'm sure."

"Well I do consider you my friend, GC, and I'm glad that we're friends." Miku smiled.

"Uh… thanks. I'm happy too. You're awesome." I said rather suddenly. My face was red, and I could feel the burn. That smile was enough to send someone in a frantic tizzy.

"Well, enough of this love fest," Allen interjected. "We've gotta practice."

"Shut up, Allen." I said through the blood rush. "Let's get going." We practiced the rest of the afternoon. The music was a simple connection, but we needed to change our approach to account for Miku's more techno approach. We then parted ways, said our goodbyes and good nights, but I decided to play the Good Samaritan and walk Miku home. It was the least I could do for her. We arrived at her driveway in about five minutes. We were walking mind you.

"So this is where you live for now, huh?" I said, attempting to make some last minute conversation.

"Yeah, it is. It's nice, but it's way smaller than my place back in Japan." Miku answered.

"I wouldn't mind it."

"Well anyway, thanks for everything you've done, GC."

"Wait, what did I do?" I felt like a complete idiot, because somehow I already knew the answer.

"You've been helping me out, and with what you said back there, it really made me feel good. I felt much more comfortable around you and your friends."

"Hey, it's my pleasure, really." My face was burning up again. I really wish I could control it.

"I did mean what I said about us being friends, by the way."

"Huh? You really consider us friends?"

"I did when you made that first conversation. I knew we were gonna be great friends. So far, I think I'm right." We laughed a bit.

"Yeah, and just remember that I'll always be there for you if you need me. I'm here no matter what, alright?" I made my promise.

"Okay, GC. Thank you so much." Somehow, I could've sworn I saw a little blush on Miku's face, but I wasn't gonna go into it. After she said this she came over and gave me a hug. It was a simple gesture, but it made me almost giddy. I was almost afraid to hug her back. Once again, she's famous. I then worked up the courage to put my arms around her. I kept them loose to be safe. We released and then she went into her house. I turned and walked back to my house with a bit of a spring in my step. Hey, it felt nice to be hugged by her, let me enjoy it a little.

She knew as well as I did that we started something interesting, and it just kept getting better.


	5. Chapter 5: The Power of the Vocaloid

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 5**

The next day had come and it went rather smoothly. Miku still wanted my help around the school. I guessed that she didn't figure out the pattern yet. Over the course of the day, I've been able to get Miku to meet a few new faces. The first one was Kaylee Nicholson. I did mention that we're still great friends, right?

"Hey, Kaylee." I greeted her.

"Hi, Peyton. What's up?" Kaylee is one of the few people who I allow to call me by my real name. It felt weird when she called me anything else. She was an old friend of mine from back in the day. We found each other again about a year ago. She then looked up at Miku. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh right, this is Miku. Miku, this is Kaylee." I introduced the two to each other.

"Nice to meet you, Kaylee." Miku bowed.

"Same here, Miku." Kaylee bowed awkwardly after her. They seemed like they were okay, but it didn't seem like they'd get anywhere in a friendship. I felt sorry for her, but sometimes she did end up becoming quite wooden around different people. It kind of makes me wonder what she really thinks. I mean she was like that when we started going out, but then she warmed up to the idea and she became a lot more fun. It makes me wonder what happened with that. The next person we met was Rick's girlfriend, Stacy Watson. I'll just skip the pleasantries and get down to the nitty-gritty.

"I love your outfit." Stacy said after they were introduced.

"Thank you. You're very pretty too." Miku complimented her as well.

"Do you think I could make some new outfits for you sometime?" Stacy was really into fashion design. She loves making new clothes and trying to make a new statement. So far, it looked more like she just tailored her clothes from department stores, but I wasn't about to say anything. Miku agreed reluctantly, and the two talked some more. I didn't know Stacy that well, so that really makes me wish that Rick was here to vouch for me. I do remember she took a small interest in me before she was with Rick. I hope she got past that. No offense to her, but it's more that she's meant for Rick.

The third person we met was Rosanna Hutchins. We call her Rose for short. She is Allen's self entitled girlfriend. She's more of the girl that follows him around and hopes to catch his eye. She has on a few occasions, but it never really went anywhere. It kind of sucks, to be honest. She is kind of cute, and I'd take her just to help her out, but she has her heart set on Allen. We went up to her, and she instantly froze.

"Uh, Rose? You in there?" I asked, trying to get her attention.

"Is she okay?" Miku asked me, as if I were to know.

"I hope so." I looked behind me to make sure that Allen wasn't there with us, and when I saw he wasn't, I immediately got worried.

"Rose, he's not there! What's wrong with you?" I asked a little louder to break her trance. All of the sudden, she turned to me and spoke with a trembling voice that she usually has for Allen.

"I-is that…?" Rose asked slowly.

"Yes, Rose, that is a person. Perhaps you could elaborate?" I joked. She is a little crazy, but hey it works.

"But she's… Oh my God, that's Miku Hatsune!" I was both impressed and surprised by her recognizing Miku right away.

"Yes, I am Miku Hatsune. It's nice to meet you." Miku bowed and Rose looked like she could've passed out right there.

"I can't believe I'm talking to her. This is so awesome. I'm a huge fan!" Rose said with such a giddy tone.

"Really? Huh, I never knew you were into Vocaloid…" I said, shocked by this strange character development.

"Are you kidding?" Rose suddenly unzipped her pink sweater and revealed a black T-shirt that had Vocaloid stuff pretty much plastered all over it. "I love it!" She turned to Miku, about to fangasm and ask a million questions, but I decided to step in and prevent anything awkward. I stepped in, got Miku to come along, and we made it out of there. It was quite interesting. I never would have expected her to listen to music like that, but hey, I love it too, and I was raised on rock 'n roll.

So after school, we decided to meet up and spar for a while. Allen, Kaylee and Stacy all came down as well. Allen was a common sparring partner for us, but it was usually me and Rick who duke it out. It helps us let off steam and relax. What we didn't expect was that we would have a visitor expecting to see us to practice for the band.

"Hey guys." Miku said to the spectators. She looked over at us and seemed both shocked and confused. (This was according to our friends, because Rick and I were too engrossed in the match to notice she was there.)

"Hey Miku, what's up?" Allen asked. The girls said hello as well, but Miku just looked on at us in a strange daze.

"Why are they fighting each other?" Miku asked finally. "Are they angry at each other?"

"No, of course not." Allen chuckled. "They spar to keep their strength up."

"That's kind of cool. Why do they do that?"

"It not only keeps them in shape, but it also shows them the other's strengths and weaknesses. They fight well alone, but when they team up, they're almost unstoppable!"

"Wow, that's incredible." Miku took to watching the rest of the match that Rick and I had going on. He threw a mighty kick in my direction, but I dodged it quickly, and then I grabbed his leg from midair and proceeded to slam him over me like he was a giant hammer. We have high pain intolerances, so it was no big deal. Rick tried to get up, but was stopped by me. We finished up the fight as I helped Rick to his round feet.

"I totally let you win that one, dude." Rick made the excuse.

"Are you kidding, I totally had you beat." I retorted. We argued a little bit before noticing we had a visitor.

"Hey, dude. Look who it is." Rick pointed me in the right direction.

"Oh, hey there, Miku. You saw the fight, huh?" I said, mildly nervous.

"Yeah, I did." Miku didn't show much emotion in her response.

"What did you think?" I hesitated asking. I wasn't able to read what she was thinking. I hoped she wasn't against violence and all that jazz.

"That was…" She slowly replied. Suddenly her face lit up. "so COOL! Seriously, that was amazing!"

"Uh, thanks, I guess." I was shocked at her incredibly positive response. Obviously she had seen a few fights in her days.

"Yeah! Hey, can I get in on this?" As she asked this, all of our jaws hit the floor. Except for Allen, who looked like he was on the verge of busting out laughing.

"You… wanna fight… with us?" I asked her, hoping I heard her wrong.

"Well, it's just sparring, right? It looks like fun!" She seemed passionate about it. I didn't want to say no, but I didn't want her to get hurt in the process. She came up to us and said "So, what do you say?"

"Ummm. I really don't know." I tried to validate an excuse, "I mean, we're pretty strong, and I don't want to hurt you by accident, you know?"

"I'm stronger than you think, GC." She then reached behind her thigh high boot and produced a long, thick, and green leek. (No pun intended there, I swear.) I recognize that the leek is a trademark to Miku, and it's her favorite vegetable. Why she seemed to swing it around like a bo staff, I still don't quite understand. By this point, we all were about to crack up, but Allen had other plans.

"Yeah, that does it." He said monotonously as he strode away. "This is just getting ridiculous. I'm so done here." He left with only a cool send-off gesture and that was it. My attention then went back to why Allen left in the first place.

"Miku, you can't be serious." I admitted. "You are honestly going to fight me with an onion?"

"It's a _leek_!" Miku seemed so serious. Apparently, no one disses the leek. "And it's way tougher than you think."

"Oh really? Why do I seriously doubt that?" I raised an eyebrow and smiled cockily.

"Well then, why don't we have a little bet then?" Miku picked up a sturdy looking branch from the yard and tossed it to me. "We'll face off with these weapons. If I win this, then you'll spar with me, no holds barred." She seemed confident. I couldn't go with all of my strength. My true power would break her like a twig. I shook it off and thought it over.

"Okay, but what if I win? What do I get out of the deal?" I wasn't about to let her go that easily.

"If you win, I'll give you a kiss." When she said those words, my heart stopped for about three seconds, and then it kickstarted yet again in maximum overdrive. In layman's terms, that was incredibly exciting. She seemed so forward with it as well, like she didn't care if it happened. Naturally, being the forever alone yutz that I am, I could never say no to those stipulations.

"You've got yourself a deal!" I said once I regained my composure. We took our stances. I was to charge headlong at her and strike the leek to break it. With a wooden branch going up against a fleshy piece of produce, how could I lose, right? I reared back, and with all of my might, I lunged toward my opponent. Miku did not move at all, so she has courage to spare. I took my swing and it landed with a satisfying snapping sound.

Nothing happened for about a minute, when suddenly I heard something cracking. To my dismay and surprise, it sounded more wooden! My stick then snapped in two and the top half landed on the ground. I was stunned for what felt like forever. Miku just stood erect, put her leek back in a standby position, and smugly grinned. I could hear Rick laughing his spherical head off behind me.

"Ha! Now that's a cock block right there!" Rick jested. "Way to go, dude, you lost to a veggie and a girl!"

"I-I can't believe it." I stammered. This was way too much to process. My sturdy branch should have decimated that infernal leek, but there it was, almost unharmed.

"I told you it was stronger than it looked." Miku said finally.

"B-b-but what… and I… and you… but you… AUGH! WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!" I stuttered blankly. I'm not sure what I was feeling. Perhaps it was a combination of me losing a showdown to a leek and disappointment in not winning my prize.

"Well, now we spar, GC. Now don't hold back on me." Miku got in a ready position. Because I had to honor this bet, I readied myself as well. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I knew I'd have to be ready for it.

I tried to charge at her and thrust a palm shot toward her. When we spar, we fight with palm shots rather than fists so we don't end up actually hurting someone. Rick, Allen and I can handle a great amount of pain, but we do it just to play safe. Anyway, I was dodged at the very moment I arrived and then I found myself at the business end of a powerful kick to my back. I was sent flying, and she caught up quickly to attack with a combination that went so fast, I wasn't sure what to assess it with, much less attempt to dodge it. With fast moving kicks in a rapid succession, I was reminded of classic fighting games, but soon I was launched yet again. I was sent high in the air, and soon witnessed the leek's true strength, as she whipped it out and used it to attack like a staff and sword together. With one final downward swipe, I was sent to the ground, completely immobilized. Miku came down and soon I saw her hold her leek up to my face. It felt like I was staring down the barrels of a gun. I had no choice but to surrender, as I could take no more of a beating without having to resort to my true potential.

"Not bad, huh? I told you I was stronger than I look." Miku said victoriously. I couldn't speak as I was still finding both my breath and my sanity. This was the biggest shocker to happen to me since she came here. I just nodded to answer her. She smiled and giggled a small amount. It's amazing to me how she's able to change her personality around so fluidly, so that she goes from a confident fighter to a sweet schoolgirl without a noticeable transition. She offered a hand to me to help me get to my feet. Because I didn't trust my arms to hold me up, I took the offer. I rose, but found that my legs were still rather jelly-like due to the attack. I ended up falling forwards and caught myself from falling to the ground yet again around Miku's waist. (No I didn't do it on purpose! I'd never stoop that low. Levi would, maybe, but never me.) After noticing where I was (And the cries of 'Oooooooo' coming from the peanut gallery known as my friends,) I quickly stood up and gave her a little space. I put my hands behind my head to distance us even further.

"Uh, thanks for helping me up." I said right away.

"N-no problem." Miku seemed stunned. I knew I wasn't going to be able to speak to her for a while. I couldn't tell if she hated me for that, though. She seemed rather embarrassed by it, but probably not to the same extent that I was. What the hell goes on in that head of hers? I couldn't place anything, and the taunts coming from Rick didn't help.

Somehow, though, that made me love Miku even more.


	6. Chapter 6: Sketch's Smackdown

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 6**

It took a little while to shake off what happened that day, but Miku and I didn't talk about it and we just ended up forgetting about it. It felt good to know that even when something really awkward happens, friends can recuperate their bond. It wasn't too strong of a bond to begin with, as we just met, but I'm sure you understand my point. Even Rick decided to drop the childish jests after a while, either through boredom or the fact that I looked like I was about to pop his head off like a grape. Allen asked what happened the next day, and pretty much took over the taunting for him, and Allen has a higher intolerance to threats. I just avoided him, especially when I was around Miku. The last thing I wanted was to put up that wall again, especially when it was Friday, just one more day until our "date." We said nothing about it, but I could sense that the thought still roamed in her mind.

We had gym class that day, and for a while it was my favorite time. Being able to run around, blow off steam, and pretty much have a makeshift recess was always something awesome in my book, and I heard we were having a free period, so that meant we could play basketball around the gym. Mostly it was a huge group playing Around the World or Horse, and I usually ended up just dribbling a ball around and improving my handling, occasionally attempting a shot at any free baskets around. After I met Sketch Adams, however, things got both interesting and obnoxious at the same time.

Sketch is a great basketball player, and he plays for the school team, sporting an incredible record. What's the problem with that? Well, unlike Allen, who is at most indifferent to me, Sketch still has it out for me ever since that first fight we had a year and a half ago. Our fight would have ended with him the victor if Allen didn't show up to help us. He doesn't try to fight me anymore, mostly because he thinks I'll lose control of my power and kill him by accident (or otherwise), and I can respect that. What he does now is try to discredit me and show off his skills in gym against me in an attempt to make me look like a fool. I think he does a good job of making himself look good, but I don't end up looking dumb either. Thankfully, things aren't terrible. It just figures that Miku is in my gym class now, and something tells me that Sketch will take every opportunity to humiliate me in front of her.

This was her first gym class here, so I was prepared to assist her in our ways if necessary. I sat in my spot to wait for her to appear, and the sight that met my eyes was unlike anything I could have expected. She looked so different compared to her normal outfit, as it was so simple. It was just a white T-shirt and gym shorts and her hair was tied in a braided ponytail, most likely so it wouldn't get in her way. I approved right away in my head, and it made me glad I didn't share a gym class with Levi, for he'd be drooling all over himself at this sight. Seriously, the outfit was rather, shall I say, form fitting without being revealing. I was even getting a bit excited, and I'm not even a pervert. I guess that's what comes with liking a girl. She went to the teacher and got her spot. It was a little bit away from me, but thankfully nowhere near Sketch. The last thing I wanted was for them to talk and for him to fill her head with bullshit about stuff that never happened to embarrass me. She seemed okay, and it really wasn't difficult to pick up the logistics of a gym class, especially when there was a free day in the works.

The teacher blew her whistle and everyone quieted down. Once she gave the okay for us to move, we all stood up and raced for the bin of basketballs that was brought out. It was mass hysteria as always, but I managed to snag a very good ball that bounced well and had plenty of air. I tried to get another one so Miku could have one, but I was soon found out and I couldn't get anything. It irked me, and it made me feel so guilty that she didn't get a ball, much less even try to get one. She was standing up where she was sitting, no doubt waiting for the crowd to disband so she could move in. I went up to her to explain the situation.

"What do you mean there aren't any more balls left?" Miku blurted as soon as I began.

"Just as I said, Miku, everyone took one." I explained. "Well, everyone that wanted one got one, and the only ones that are left are flat, so there's no point to take them anyway."

"I can't believe this. I would've wanted to play some basketball." She seemed so disappointed.

"Well, I mean you could have this one if you wanted." I offered her my basketball to console her. (For the record, there is no symbolism in any of this, so get that out of your heads, you dirty minded freaks!)

"I don't wanna rob you of it. Do you want to just walk and talk or something?"

"Actually, why don't we play a little one-on-one game? I'll play basketball with you." She agreed and we began, but just as I was about to check the ball, a booming voice halted our proceedings.

"Well what's this now?" Sketch had appeared behind us. Normally, I would've jumped out of my skin, but lately I've been expecting his intrusions. "Little GC playing ball with a girl?"

"God damn it!" I said under my breath.

"Maybe you'll actually win this time!" Sketch laughed at his joke. He really sucks at making his own material. I mean if it makes me groan, then you know it's bad. My comedic repertoire is absolutely cringe worthy, but Sketch just barely seems like he's trying.

"Lay off, Sketch." I said calmly. "She's just a friend of mine. She didn't get a ball so I thought I'd be nice. Maybe you should think about doing the same. You might actually make a friend that might make a lick of sense when you talk to them."

"Yeah, huh? And you're such a good speaker yourself that you can make such judgements." Sketch said sarcastically.

"Read a book one in a while and maybe you can understand a word that has more than three syllables."

"Whatever, man. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen her around yet." He went up to Miku, apparently breaking her personal space. "Hey there, the name's Sketch. Pleasure to meet you." He had a weird smile on his face. He thought he had some kind of spell with it, but it just made him look like a complete goof.

"Uh, I'm Miku. The pleasure is all yours." She wasn't vain at all, but she seemed very uncomfortable around him. I had no choice but to intervene.

"Alright already, dude." I said quickly as I separated them. "We get it; you think you're a big shot. Why don't you go and hang with other douches of your own kind?"

"Not before I whoop your ass in a game." Sketch's challenge was issued.

"You're on, asshole!" I accepted the terms, but then I thought for a second. The only thing better than Sketch being bested by me would be if he was beaten by…

"You know what? How about I let Miku take you on?" I think they both were surprised at this ultimatum. I had a feeling she'd be a good player, as she's quite fast when she fights, and her agility is incredible, so I figured basketball could be her thing.

"Uh, GC, are you sure about this?" Miku seemed rather skeptic about this. It makes sense, as I did mention that Sketch was the best player on the basketball team earlier.

"Yeah, man." Sketch snickered. "Do you honestly want her to challenge my skill? I could wipe the floor with her before I even break a sweat! You know what? Screw this! I'm not even going to bother playing this game." Suddenly I saw Miku twitch a bit, and I saw her expression change.

"What did you say?" Miku said with a touch of anger in her voice. I was legitimately getting a little frightened at what I was witnessing.

"I said you ain't worth my time. I won't even bother with you. You don't even seem fit to clean my sneakers." I could see Miku about to snap. I don't think she likes hearing that she's worthless. She took the basketball I harbored, and she took a jump shot to the hoop from the other side of the court. Believe it or not the ball met the backboard and passed through the rim without hesitation. I could see Sketch's disbelief from behind him. I ran to get the ball back, and as I returned, I could see a challenge being made.

"Whatever, I bet I could do that no problem." Sketch shot his own ball at the same net from the same position that Miku was in. Unsurprisingly, his bravado got the best of him and he missed the shot miraculously.

"Nice shot." I said sarcastically. "If only the net didn't blow the ball away. That's obviously what happened." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Shut it." Sketch growled. I could see red in his chestnut colored cheeks. "I bet she can't do it twice." I handed Miku the ball so she could hand Sketch his ass.

"If I make this, you'd better promise to leave us alone from now on." Miku proposed. She seemed so confident. I even had my doubts that she could make the shot twice. Still this is the same girl who kicked my ass with a leek, so she seems synonymous with impossibilities.

"Fine, whatever. "Sketch agreed without knowing what he was getting into with this sudden death game of Horse. Miku took the shot and time seemed to slow down. We all watched the ball as it went to the rim. It bounded on the edge once, then it bounced on the other side. It swirled around, edging dangerously near the outside. Suddenly with a pronounced _SWISH_ the challenge was won, and Miku was victorious. Sketch was awestruck.

"I don't believe this." Sketch said once he unfortunately regained his voice. "No one could ever be that lucky."

"It was just pure skill and you know it, Sketch." Miku seemed very proud.

"Yeah, well this isn't the end of it." Sketch finally came back to his senses. "We'll have a proper game one day, and I'll show you what I can really do. Remember this. I will be back."

"Shut up and enjoy the day already." I said. He left in a huff and I was finally able to speak to Miku in peace.

"That was impressive." I said slowly.

"Well, you seemed confident that I could beat him in a game." She replied.

"I didn't expect THAT! That was awesome!"

"Thanks, GC." Miku smiled. Somehow that just made her entire face just glow. "So do you still want to play?"

"Hell no! After that stunt? I ain't that stupid! I wouldn't have a chance!" We both laughed. "Why don't we just go back to your plan and just walk and talk?" She seemed to like that idea, and that's just what happened. We walked around, dribbling the basketball in front of us and talked a little bit.

"By the way, GC," Miku said suddenly, "I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I can't wait to hang out with you."

_Oh shit!_ I thought, _I can't believe I almost forgot about that. I'm glad she didn't though._ I just turned to her and said the first words to come to my head "I am too." My face burned and my heart raced at the thought of us hanging out together. Just us. Alone…

Holy shit, what the hell did I get myself into?


	7. Chapter 7: GC and Miku's Grand Day Out

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 7**

My mind was racing with all that had occurred in the past week. Suddenly everything caught up to me and I found myself facing a great challenge that I almost forgot I made: being alone with Miku for a day. It was just a simple chance to hang out and get to know each other better, but I couldn't help but be nervous. One false move and I could never be able to speak to her again. I didn't even want to call it a date, because it just felt too embarrassing. I decided to take her down to the mall. Something told me that due to the massive amount of music she plays and practices, she never really has the chance to cut loose and be a teenager. Now that she seems to be free of those shackles, it was time to show her a good time.

I barely ate that day. I was either too excited or too freaked out to do so. All I could think about was what was going to happen and what she would say if things went wrong. But then I decided to roll with it, mainly due to the fact that I knew we were friends, and it would be difficult to mess it up. On the other hand, I've learned to pretty much expect the unexpected with Miku. She's so unpredictable. Once you think you have her figured out she'll just do something that will make you rethink everything. I decided to keep it in my best interest to stay on her good side. One false move could lead to me getting whacked by that leek of hers, and I felt that thing enough to know that it wasn't going to be pretty if I did. I managed to stomach something before shoving off. Somehow I just felt queasy. I had many a doubt, and I was worried about the slightest problem. This is very counterproductive, I know, but hey, you'd be nervous too. Once I finished, I decided to take my leave, if anything to get it over with.

I walked down to her place to meet up with her. The closer I got, the more sick I felt, and I almost felt like puking as I was about to turn the corner. I kept messing with my hair to make sure it looked fine, but it just kept going where it wanted to. I decided to leave it alone. It wasn't a date after all; it was just two friends hanging out. Once I turned the corner, I was surprised to see her there. She waved as I approached her.

"Hey GC, sorry about the little shock there, but I just got excited." Miku explained after I met up with her.

"You were excited? Why?" I couldn't help but wonder.

"Well, you said that we'd have fun together, so I just can't wait to see what you have planned." She seemed ready to go, but naturally I felt too anxious to move.

"Wait a second. I said we can do whatever it is that you wanted!" I suddenly remembered. This mall thing was just a plan B just in case something was screwy.

"GC, I don't really care what we do so long as we can hang out together.

"Okay then, I thought we'd go and hang out at the mall." I replied. "Maybe you could do some shopping or whatever."

"That sounds cool." Miku seemed quite excited. Clearly I was correct in my assumption that she rarely got out much.

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it? I just thought it would be fun to walk and talk and get some stuff or whatever. Nothing too crazy, right?" I felt nervous at this notion.

"Yeah, why would it be crazy? What were you thinking?"

"Nothing, it's fine." I regained my composure. "Well, let's not waste any more time, then. Let's get moving!"

"Okay!" And we went on to the mall. It's a bit of a walk, but it's worth it in my opinion. It isn't terribly far, but by car it would take about 2 minutes, and on foot, about ten minutes minimum. We talked the whole way. She really has a lot to talk about, and when she gets into a subject, there's barely any stopping her. She's quite talkative, especially about music and how her career has been going. It's nice to see how passionate she is about her art, but perhaps she was programmed that way. Yeah, I keep reminding myself that she's an android, but the more I talk to her and the more I get to know her, the more I tend to forget that and the more human she appears. As I said, however, she does tend to talk your ear off, but to be honest, I really didn't care about getting a say. I was quite content with just listening to what she had to say. Seriously, it feels like everything she does just puts a spell on me, and I can't explain it.

Before long, we made it to our destination. The mall that I go to is a small place with only one floor, but it does have quite a bit to offer in terms of different stores. Personally I'm glad I took Miku to this mall, for if I took her to anything more eccentric, I'm sure she would have gone crazy with excitement. She was happy with this humble place.

"Wow, this place looks awesome!" She said as we arrived.

"Seriously?" I questioned her excitement, even though I was pretty much proven right about her not getting out too much.

"Yeah, I'm serious. I mean it's small and the one back home is a little bigger, but it's outside, so it's nice to be inside to shop for once."

"Oh, so you guys have outlets mostly?" I was interested.

"It's more of a market street with different stores available."

"Well, let's just pretend that this is what it is, but with comforting air conditioning!" I chuckled, but Miku just looked at me weird. Did I mention I wasn't really that funny?

It was a very simple afternoon, and I warmed up in no time. We looked around at the different stores, talked some more, and hung out for a while. She bought some outfits in some of the different clothing stores, and I even bought a couple of new t-shirts. I have to say, I was a bit worried I was going to end up emptying my wallet over the past few hours, but Miku was definitely good with restricting herself from buying certain things. I'm glad that I wasn't dealing with the personality from a certain song she did where she was more of a spoiled brat. Seriously, did she think that the whole world was hers? But I'm off topic. We wandered around for a while, and I noticed that a few people had taken notice of the pop singer that walked beside me. Not as many people as I would have expected for someone around here, but I'm sure there could have been more.

"Does it bother you that you aren't recognized here that often?" I asked her finally.

"What are you talking about?" Miku replied with her own question.

"I mean I see a few people noticing you here, but I'm sure that you can hardly leave your house some days with all of your fans."

"You have a point. I know I have fans here, but to be honest, its great not having to worry about being recognized too much."

"Really? How come?"

"I'm sure if your band ever gets bigger, you'll understand. It's tiresome sometimes."

"Why not just stop?"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Miku suddenly stopped me and looked at me with such a burning passion. "I'll never stop making music! It's my life! Singing for people and making them happy is what I live for. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't sing. What if someone told you that you couldn't spar or play video games or draw anymore?"

"You'd want to kill a man too?" That's my amount of passion anyway.

"No, but I wouldn't just sit there and take it! I'll always sing no matter how hard things are for me! Nothing will ever change that!" Something just popped into my head. I remembered something was added to the mall roster a few days ago and was blowing up quickly in popularity.

"Now what if you could make people happy with your singing and NOT worry about people hunting you down 24/7/365?" I had thought of it quickly and this would definitely work for her.

"That would be something, but how would I do that?" Miku was intrigued, but confused at the same time.

"Well then, I know a place here that would be right up your alley."

"Really? Where is it?" Miku seemed so excited.

"You'll have to close your eyes for me and I'll take you there. It's a surprise." I figured if it was that exciting, then I may as well have some fun with it and her.

She was reluctant to shut her eyes, but as I vowed not to do anything dumb like leave her in the dust or stuff like that, she shut her eyes and I took her hand. It felt a bit like I was leading the blind and I kind of was, but otherwise it was like showing her around the school without the dangers of learning. Was I enjoying the time I was holding her hand? Sort of, but I would have enjoyed it more if there was feeling behind it. I was just taking her some place, so there was nothing to freak about too much.

Soon we arrived at our destination. It was evident that Miku was interested when I said that we were there and we were surrounded by the sound of music flowing through the door.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Miku was so eager to check it out, but I wasn't done yet.

"First, what do you hear?" It was obvious, but I had to think of some way for her to guess.

"Music, duh, but why did you take me here?"

"Well does the singer sound good?" I didn't think so. He sounded like he had cats clawing at his balls and singing into the microphone.

"Not really, and the quality of the sound is weird. Is this a live show?"

"You're warmer. This is something that's fun for everyone, and it's a great place to sing, dance, and possibly make a fool of yourself, and I know that you love it in Japan." I figured that hint would do it.

"Wait, does this place have karaoke?" Dear lord the smile that broke out on her face when I said she was correct. I knew she would love this place. The Staff Bar is the latest karaoke joint in the city, and teenagers come in all the time to have some fun. It's not an alcoholic bar, but the barkeeper is a mean soda jerk. We went to the counter, got a voucher for one song each and sat down to choose our song to sing. Some of the people that went up to sing were either tone deaf or so nervous that they were shaking to the point of vibrato going into overdrive. I was a bit nervous myself. I realized that this was my first time singing in front of Miku on my own. When I got my courage up, I went up and sang my choice, which was "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour. I felt myself screw up a few parts, but all and all I got a pretty good ovation, and Miku seemed to like it, and suddenly relief washed over me like a wave in the ocean. It's daunting singing a song in front of a professional singer, okay?

Soon Miku got up to sing, and I was a bit nervous for her. She speaks solid English, but I know that she can switch her singing voice on, and that screws up her accent, making her sound a bit more Japanese, and I was worried she wouldn't be able to sing a song from the list. Thankfully she found a great piece that I actually heard her sing before over YouTube. She picked the song "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle, and it turned out pretty good considering the fact that she isn't too experienced when it came to singing in English. A few hiccups in her Engrish here and there, but she had the place howling when she concluded, and I couldn't help but stand up and clap. I was amazed that I was hanging out with such a talented girl.

We left the mall after that, and soon we arrived across from her house. We talked for a little bit before saying good-bye.

"I had a great time today, GC." Miku said to me.

"I'm glad you did." I replied. "It was nice to hang out and get to know you a little bit better."

"Same here, and the karaoke was fun, too."

"Yeah it was. We gotta do that again some time."

"You bet! So I'll see you later, then. I'll text you tomorrow, maybe."

"Yeah, or I will to you. Whatever comes first, I guess." After a quick chuckle, something popped into my head. "Oh, and before I forget to say anything about it, you have a beautiful signing voice. It's been slipping my mind since the day I showed you my band." I felt my face blushing again. I know; it happens a lot. I can't control it sometimes.

"Aw, thank you, GC. That's very sweet of you. You aren't too bad yourself." Her smile was extenuated by the sudden rosiness in her cheeks. I think she blushed a bit there too, but again I think it's because she doesn't take compliments too well.

"Uh, thanks, that means the world coming from you." We hugged and then she went inside her house. I waved one last time before she went in and she waved back. I ran back home feeling quite giddy. I felt like I could do anything now, and nothing would ruin my good mood. I guess I could consider that date a success. Wait, did I say date? Aw crap.

Well, it went so well that I'll consider it one.


	8. Chapter 8: Day after the Dream

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 8**

The next morning arrived and I felt as though I had been released from the realms of the dream world. It all felt like it didn't actually happen and I was just going to go to school the next day to a normal day with nothing exciting happening or to speak of. I didn't want it to be the case, but somehow it felt that once I went to school on Monday, there would have been no Miku Hatsune in my homeroom, I wouldn't have helped her find her classes, I wouldn't have met her, and nothing would have ever come to fruition. I had a similar feeling when Kaylee dumped me, but that was a nightmare I couldn't escape from no matter what. I was still spaced out as I had only woken up a few moments ago when I heard a low hum coming from my phone. I picked it up expecting some spam email, but I saw a text message, and it was one that snapped me out of my doubtful stupor.

"Hey, I had a really fun time yesterday." Miku had sent me a message and I somehow felt relieved and stressed at the same time.

"I did too." I replied with the only message I could think to type. Understatement of the year, by the way. It was so incredible to me that I just kept replaying the best of it in my head like I had some kind of built in camcorder.

"I'm glad I turned down Levi to make that plan. Lol." It took me a while to remember what she was talking about. I couldn't help but laugh when I remembered. I never expected Miku to be the type to make degrading jokes about people behind their backs.

"Ha ha, nice! It's funny it all just feels so weird."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I had an awesome time with an awesome girl. It almost felt like it didn't even really happen."

"Well don't worry too much, GC. It definitely happened, and I enjoyed every second of it ;-)" I felt the blushing commence once again.

"I'm glad you did, Miku. I wanted to show you a good time."

"Well you certainly showed me a great time."

"Good, I'm so happy to hear it." All of the sudden, a text message came into my phone that wasn't from Miku at all.

"Hey, we have band practice today, you idiot. Get your ass down here now or I wring your neck with my guitar strings!" Allen was sending me a reminder and a warning about our band meeting and practice. He's quite the motivational speaker, isn't he?

"Alright I'm coming! It can't be that late, can it? I just woke up." I then looked at the clock and saw that it was already 12:30! "Okay, you may have a point…" I then went to my conversation with Miku. "We have band practice again today."

"Okay, can I come too?" Miku asked in response.

"Ah, you had a good time with that too, huh?"

"Yeah, so can I?"

"Totally! I'll meet you on the way and we'll walk down together." We ended the conversation and I got myself together. I managed to depart at around 1:00, so I had to get moving. I bolted out the door and headed toward Miku's street. Once again, I found her waiting for me, this time it was at the intersection that is conveniently on the way to the garage anyway. It's rather serendipitous now that I think about it. We walked down the rest of the way and met up with the rest of the gang. They didn't seem as surprised to see her this time as they were the last time, although Levi still seemed excited. I was prepared to practice some great music, but my crew had other plans.

"So, how'd the date go yesterday?" Rick asked with a snarky tone in his voice.

"It wasn't a date and you know it!" I responded with my face erupting in a blood rush.

"Oh, it wasn't a date, huh?" Miku looked at me with a smirk. "You know, it sort of felt like one to me." She giggled when she saw me squirm.

"Of course not! I was just trying to show you a good time and get to know you better with us being alone." I responded.

"You do realize that you just described a date, right GC?" Miku replied. One minute she's all nice and the next minute she's teasing me and trying to work me up? What runs through this girl's head?

"I had no intentions to make any moves, you know. I was doing this for you as a good friend."

"Suuuuuurrrre…" Everyone chorused. They all busted out laughing, but I did notice that Miku's face was a bit red.

"Yeah, so why do YOU seem so nervous right now, huh? Did you honestly think it was a date?" She stopped laughing and almost froze.

"O-of course not. I was just joking around. I knew that we were just doing that as friends, and nothing more!" Miku seemed to be so nervous about it. I decided to stop letting her writhe.

"Chill out Miku, I get it. I'm just messing with you." I said to console her, even if I did end up calling her bluff, which in all honesty, felt quite good. We all laughed for a while before getting back to the matters at hand.

"So seriously dude, how did it go?" Rick asked again.

"Yeah, and was it worth ditching me for it?" Levi added.

"Well obviously, dude." Allen replied. Levi shook it off and just asked how things went to get the spotlight off of him.

"Well, I know I had a great time yesterday." I answered.

"Yeah, and I did too! I had a blast!" Miku continued.

"Really?" Rick began. "So give us the deets." We then proceeded to tell the guys how everything went, what happened, and all the fun that we had with each other. I get that the prior statement sounds wrong out of context, so bear with me. After the story, the questions arose.

"So it wasn't anything too exciting?" Rick asked.

"Not really, dude." I replied. "The karaoke was the most exciting thing we did."

"Did you seriously sing something, dude?" Allen said with a sneer. "That must have made everyone run and hide."

"Hey shut up, Allen!" Miku jumped in. "He did a great job! There's a reason why he's your singer!"

"Yeah, it's because he can't play any REAL instruments." Miku twitched a bit. I knew that a tangent was about to unravel. Before she went off, I decided to step in quickly to avoid any squabbling.

"Allen, chill out! Miku is a very passionate singer. If you diss singing, then you diss her entire outlook on life!" I looked at her to see if I hit the nail on the head.

"Yeah!" Miku had agreed. "You should know that singing isn't some kind of dumb thing that I do in my spare time. It's my life! It's who I am! No one has the right to make fun of it! I always have so much fun with it, and I practice from sunrise to sunset. GC sure as heck has the right to have fun with singing as much as I do, because he doesn't have to go through all of that. Singing is one of the most important instruments that not many people can play, and when you can use it, this gift must be preserved and cared for thoroughly. Do you get it now, Allen?" Somehow I couldn't avoid the tangent anyway.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." Allen said finally. "Just so long as you don't bite my head off again."

"But nothing really happened with this, huh?" Rick said.

"Not really. We just went to the mall and went home." I reiterated once more.

"Pfft, weak!" Levi butted in. "You just hung out? What kind of lame-ass date is that?"

"First of all," I began "it wasn't a date. Second, we aren't all like you, Levi. We don't jump the gun with girls and attempt to get in their pants on the first date. It's called human decency. Learn it!" For a while there was silence.

"Damn, that was… actually kind of impressive." Levi retorted. "I wasn't implying anything like that, but come on, was there no kiss or anything?" Miku and I both retracted at that statement.

"No, of course not, we were just out as friends, and that was all!" I said quickly as sweat trickled down my back.

"Y-Yeah, we were just hanging out and being friends. We didn't kiss or anything like that. That'd be weird! I mean we hugged before the end, but that was it. Nothing more." Miku added almost as quickly. Her eyes darted all over the place, and I noticed her face got red.

"Yeah, and it was just a nice, friendly hug." I concluded.

"Me thinks that thou dost protest too much." Rick joked.

"Me thinks thou should silence thyself before I silence thou permanently!" Believe it or not, Miku actually said that.

"…Damn, woman. Where did that come from?" I asked after about a minute of silence.

"Sorry, I sort of lost my temper a bit." Miku apologized. "Quit messing with us, guys. It isn't funny anymore!" I was sort of referring to her sudden shift into Shakespearean wording, but whatever.

"Hey, alright, fine. We're just having some fun." Allen stepped in. "In all honesty, I'm glad you guys had a good time. You wouldn't believe how nervous GC was about the whole thing anyway."

"Damn it, Allen." I shot "You were being heartfelt for a second there. Why did you have to change your tone to that?" Everyone laughed, and soon I did too. Laughter is a contagious phenomenon that always seems to strike me and my friends.

We finished our practice, we said our goodbyes, and then I walked Miku home. Nothing really happened on the way, and we really didn't talk much. Something must have rattled her in some way. We arrived and I finally worked up the nerve to speak. "Uh is something wrong, Miku?"

"You were nervous about yesterday?" Miku said slowly.

"Well kind of. You're the first girl I hung out with in a long time. I had a tough time processing this whole thing, but I'm glad that it happened."

"To be honest, I was kind of nervous, too." Miku blushed a little.

"WHAT? Why would YOU be nervous? Of all people I know, I would never expect you to be nervous about anything. What could you possibly be nervous about?"

"Well, I actually NEVER hung out with a boy alone. I had other friends to back me up. Being on my own with you just terrified me."

"Sheesh, was it something I said?" I was actually curious. I was getting her to open up to me in a way that I couldn't get her to do yesterday.

"It wasn't you, I swear!" Miku said quickly. "It's just that I have no experience with this kind of stuff. I feel like a complete loser with this, and I hope this doesn't make you think differently of me. I mean I had no idea what to do or how to act. I was walking toward your house that day because I just wanted to get it moving. I didn't honestly want to embarrass myself in front of you. Even if it was just a simple time with just us together, it still felt like I was on a date somehow. I know, I'm a total weirdo for all of this, but it's just how it felt. I limited myself from shopping because I didn't want you to spend too much money and be angry with me because of it. I had a great time yesterday, don't get me wrong, but I just felt so weird being there with you and not having anyone there to back me up. If you don't want to see me again because I weird you out, I understand." Wow, she seemed so upset. I was worried that she would cry right as she was walking inside her house. I couldn't take her sadness or stress sitting down or standing. It was time to set some records straight. Before she walked away, I grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her. I turned her around, but kept my hand there to comfort her. She really DID look like she would break out into tears.

"Miku, don't ever think that I'll look at you any different than what I do. I personally don't care about anything that makes someone weird, because that's just what's awesome about them. Look at me, I hang out with an alien, I walk everywhere because I can't drive, and I have hair that ignores all rules of perspective." Miku forced a chuckle as I continued. "What I'm trying to say is that I know how you feel about the nerves taking over. I couldn't eat because of it, and you saw how scared I looked when I saw you. I looked into your eyes and I saw a girl brimming with confidence. You didn't seem worried at all. Maybe you just worked stuff out in your head, or maybe you decided to just go with it, but I couldn't tell that you were nervous. Besides, what's there to be nervous with me? Compared to most guys out there, I suck! Anyway, don't you ever think that you'll change in my eyes. You'll always be such a great person to me, and to be honest, you should be beating guys away with a stick. You're… just incredible to me." My face began to burn. "I don't care what anyone says about you, me, or anything. I know that you're an amazing girl with incredible talent, outrageous passion, and the kindest heart I've seen in a long time. Never doubt that, Miku. Never." Her eyes were sparkling after I concluded, and she seemed so awestruck by my words. She was stunned for a few seconds, and then she pulled me in to hug me.

"Thank you, GC. That was… so sweet. Thank you… so much for being my friend." Miku sobbed. Her breathing was getting heavy, and I felt my shoulder become wet. She then began to cry a lot harder, and I just held her and tried to comfort her. We were like that for about five or ten minutes until she began to calm down a bit. Why do I get the feeling that she rarely gets the chance to vent like this?

"Well, I'm glad that you got that out of your system." I said after she stopped crying.

"Yeah. I kind of needed it." Miku said kind of weakly, as she was recovering from her moment. "Thanks for being there for me. Your shoulder was very comfortable." She tried to smile.

"So I've been told. Don't worry about anything, Miku. No matter what happens, we'll always be friends." I gave her a thumbs-up, and she smiled much more than she could earlier. We said our goodbyes and then I ventured home. I feel like I made quite an impact on her that day. I never heard her dig so deep into her personal life. I was glad to help her feel better and I walked home feeling a bit like a hero.

Well, I felt like a hero with a cold, wet shoulder as it didn't dry off yet.


	9. Chapter 9: Outlook Peak's Newest Visitor

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 9**

School had reared its ugly head upon us once again, and Miku said she still needed help after I went down. The pattern can't be that hard to learn in our school. We went upstairs to homeroom, and we saw Allen and Levi waiting for us to arrive near the hallway. We greeted each other, and then the conversation commenced.

"So what are you guys doing here anyway?" I asked.

"Just thought we'd talk before the bell rang." Allen replied.

"Yeah, we never get the shot to talk anymore, so why not try now?" Levi added.

"Oh joy, that's just what we needed: Two Douche Corner starring Allen and Levi." Rick joked. Everyone laughed but Miku, mostly because she didn't understand the context of the joke, and then we let it go.

"Well, anyway I don't think I ever got to say that I'm glad that GC dragged you to our practice that day, Miku." Allen said.

"Well, I'm very glad to have co-…" Miku paused. "Wait, what do you mean "dragged"? He asked me to come, and I said that I would."

"Yeah, I know. That's what I mean."

"Oh okay, sorry. The way you made it sound was like he was some kind of crazy person who drags people everywhere."

"Yeah, that was the joke… Wasn't really a joke, but more of a… well whatever."

"Oh, well I didn't mean to ruin it. I'm weird like that." Miku seemed embarrassed.

"Uh huh. I mean, we all seemed to play a lot better with you around." Allen said sincerely. "I think you have that thing that we've been lacking."

"What thing, exactly?" Miku asked.

"I don't know what, but whatever it is, you have it!"

"I told you guys that she was freakin' awesome!" I interjected. We talked for a little while longer and then we went to class. We went through the rest of the day, me showing Miku around once again. Once the day let out, I felt a great amount of relief, but I really felt rather stressed.

"Well, tonight feels like it'll be a nice night." I said to myself. "Not too warm, not too cold, and it'll probably get to be a little bit chilly after the sunset. It'll be a great night to hang out at Outlook Peak."

Okay, time for another bit of explanation. Outlook Peak is a spot I discovered a while ago. It's a cliff over a nice waterway that rushes below. It's a great spot to hang out and relieve some stress. Just standing out there alone just allows me to seclude myself from reality and enjoy my time by myself. To be honest, I've rather liked my alone time, but a little company would be nice every now and then, right?

Anyway, I decided to head down to Outlook Peak and blow off some steam. I went my usual way, and soon I arrived. Suddenly I found that I was not about to be alone for today's seclusion therapy. Somebody was there with me. It was a girl. About my height. Met her last week. Great singer. Has exceptionally long turquoise hair. I think you know where I'm going with this.

"Hey, Miku!" I said to her as I arrived. Yeah, you saw this coming.

"Oh, hey GC." Miku replied with a smile as she turned to me. "What brings you here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. No one else knows about this spot."

"Well, I found it pretty easily."

"Seriously? How'd you find it?"

"Well, I was out for a walk, just looking around and taking in the sights, and then I went a good amount behind my house and then I started hearing rushing water. I followed the sound and I eventually ended up here at this spot. This is such a beautiful place, by the way."

"I know, right? Also I can't believe you found it so simply. I come here almost all the time, and no one has ever come here, so it was always just me and my thoughts."

"You're usually here alone?" Miku seemed concerned.

"Yeah, pretty much. I never really get to hang out with anyone else here." I explained. "It's a very secluded and quiet area, so I really don't mind the lack of people here."

"So should I leave if it's messing up the experience for you?"

"What? No way! You can hang out here all you want. I could actually use someone here to be a friend."

"So I can really stay here with you?" Miku brightened up a bit.

"Of course you can, Miku!" I reassured her. "What kind of person would I be if I prevented you from enjoying this wonderful sight?"

"Yay! Thank you, GC. I really appreciate that. And you're right! The view here is awesome!"

"That's why I call this place 'Outlook Peak.' The view of the horizon is absolutely perfect!" She smiled once more and then looked out to the horizon. We just stood there for a while. We said nothing. We did nothing. We just gazed upon the glorious skyline and being calmed by the rushing waters below. After a while, I couldn't help but break the silence.

"Isn't this great, Miku?"

"Yeah, it really is!" She replied. "I feel so relaxed. I don't think I ever felt so calm."

"Heh, I know the feeling. It feels like my head is just getting lost in the sky and the rushing waters deafen me to the outside world."

"You're right. It's so quiet besides the water. It's like we aren't even near the town anymore."

"That's what's so nice about Outlook Peak. It's so removed from society that it's nearly untouched by mankind. It's as if the water is the blood that flows through the heart of the land and the lack of tampering just allows it to thrive in the most beautiful array of colors and fresh air."

"It's like nothing I could have ever really imagined. It's so beautiful, GC!" Her eyes were sparkling. I was tempted to say: _Not as beautiful as you are,_ but that's incredibly cheesy and I didn't feel quite ready to say stuff like that to her.

"It is tough to imagine this kind of beauty to tell the truth." I replied instead. "I come here all the time, and it never stops impressing me."

"I can understand why! This view just makes me forget all of my troubles. It feels wonderful."

"Speaking of troubles, how's our school going for you anyway?" I was meaning to ask her that anyway.

"To be honest, it's not terrible." Miku replied. "The classes feel quite a bit easier, and I never feel quite so hammered with work."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad that you've adjusted to life here so far."

"Yeah, but it feels like I still have a lot to learn." Miku sheepishly admitted.

"Well, don't worry about anything, my friend! I'll be with you every step of the way! I'll help you for as long as you need me."

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do all of that, GC. I can learn stuff on my own."

"Maybe, but isn't it more fun to learn it from a friend?" We laughed and after she agreed to my terms we just looked out some more. It's such a hypnotic sight, that I could feel old feelings welling up. My smile faded and I sighed with depression. It was subtle, but Miku certainly noticed.

"Are you alright, GC?" Miku asked.

"I'm alright." I replied with a tone of sorrow. "Some sad memories just came back to me."

"How come? This place is supposed to help you feel better, right?"

"I think it's time I told you about why I found this place to begin with." This was a very touchy topic in my opinion. I was really opening up to Miku with this, and this probably wasn't going to end without tears welling. "Did I ever tell you that Kaylee and I used to date?"

"No, I don't think so. I guess I could see it, though." Miku replied nonchalantly.

"Well, we ended up having to break up because we knew it would be the safest option for the two of us. Even if it was a mutual thing, it still really hurt inside. I left them with a poker face, and then when I was sure I was alone, I broke down in tears. I cried and cried, and I just kept running to find a peaceful spot to release these feelings in seclusion. I kept going until I found this spot right here. Every aspect of it was perfect. The view made me lose myself and forget my pain, the rushing waters made it so the world was silenced around me, and the water itself made the tears I cried seem small."

"So, you came here originally to cry?" Miku said with concern in her voice.

"Yeah, and then I've been coming here ever since." My eyes started to water. "The pain still hasn't left my heart though. Sometimes I come here and the memory begins to play, and… Hey, I'm sorry if I'm getting too personal with you here."

"Don't worry about it, GC. I got personal with you yesterday, so I think it's an even trade. Besides, I'm sure you were itching to tell someone about it, right?" She tried to console me.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but…" Suddenly, I felt something snag my hand.

"It'll be alright, GC. Just like you're here for me, I'll be here for you." Miku took my hand in hers to help comfort me. The burning in my face had ignited once more. "I'll always be your friend, no matter what. You're the nicest guy I met here, and with all that you've done to help me out, I feel like I should repay you somehow." Suddenly, I felt my nose twitch for some reason. I was getting rather excited.

"You, uh, don't have to pay me back at all." I said quickly. I wasn't sure what she was referring to, but I don't feel like I'm ready for any *ahem* debt payoffs. "Just knowing that you're alright around here is enough for me."

"But I insist on giving something back." I felt her grip my hand tighter. I think she was getting annoyed.

"Look, let's just keep being friends and let's keep hanging out. I like hanging out with you, so I feel like that would be good for now. Can you loosen your grip on my hand, please? I can't really feel it anymore!" She was really squeezing tightly. Obviously she doesn't know her own strength outside of battle.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm sorry!" She relaxed and I got the feeling back in my hand.

"It's cool, Miku. I guess you don't know your own strength, huh?" I said and we laughed. We looked onward, but I couldn't help but think over that gesture. Remember back in chapter seven when I thought nothing of holding Miku's hand when I was guiding her to the karaoke joint because there was no feeling behind it? Well, this hand holding had definite feeling, but I was unable to decipher the meaning of it for the life of me. What the hell goes on in her mind? This question plagued me to no end. Was this because she was trying to be friendly, or was there more feeling to it than that? Miku's reasoning confounds me.

Either way we held there for a good amount of time. She looked at me and I looked at her. We gazed into each other's eyes. The last time I looked in her eyes was to see her camera lens eyes, but with this, I felt like I was looking deeper, as if I was gazing into her soul. I was fighting the magnetic force that the gaze portrayed with all of my might. Her eyes were calling out to me, and her blushing cheeks just made her face glow in the sunset light, and it was as if her lips were beckoning for mine to be near hers. I felt myself drifting towards her without thinking. She didn't seem to do anything, really. It was as if she was willing it to happen. Within minutes, however, I caught myself before advancing too close. I backed off immediately and looked away from her hypnotic radiance.

"Well, I should probably get back home." I said quickly. "My parents will probably worry if I stay out too late. You should know the way back to your house, so I'm not too worried. Good night, Miku and I hope you enjoy Outlook Peak. I'll see you tomorrow!" I ran off, feeling outrageously embarrassed. I felt like I could have started crying on the way home, I was so upset. I wasn't sure if I felt regret for attempting to kiss Miku, or if I was cursing myself for NOT kissing her. I wasn't sure what would happen, but some omniscience should shed some light on Miku's point of view. Narrator powers of God activate!

_Hmm, I wonder what got into GC there._ Miku thought. Wow, Omniscience is fun! _I hope I didn't overdo anything. I could see he was moving closer to me, and I had a feeling that he wanted to try to kiss me. I'm sure I'm looking too deeply into this, and I'm sure there's no way he would kiss me. _Ha! She has no idea. _But I'm wondering if I would have LET him kiss me. I'm not even sure how I feel about him. He's a great friend and I love hanging out with him, but there's just something about him that's just making me wonder. I'm so confused. I think I'm looking too deep into this. GC and I are good friends, and nothing else._ Okay, my head is starting to hurt, so I'm snapping back into normal limited first person viewpoints.

This trip to Outlook Peak calmed me down in some ways, but stressed me out further in other ways.


	10. Chapter 10: Unwittingly Admitted

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 10**

After that embarrassing escapade, things went very smoothly. Miku even texted me saying that she was alright with everything that happened. I was worried, but it was vague in a way. The next day, we arranged a rather unusual rendezvous after school. Rick was going to be at Stacy's house, and he asked me to come so he doesn't have to be alone in a house full of girls. That was the other part of it. Kaylee, Stacy, and Rose were all going to be upstairs in Stacy's room just talking or whatever girls do. I thought Miku would actually enjoy being over there with them, but she took a little convincing on the way there.

"So why are we going down to Stacy's house again?" Miku asked me as she was understandably confused.

"Well, Rick is down there, and he said he wanted me to go down to be with him." I said in reply. "He said something about not wanting to lose any of his manhood around the bunch of girls. He ain't hanging out with girls and he didn't want to be alone."

"Well, that's cool. You're such a good friend to him. So why am I coming then?"

"I just thought that it would be nice for you to hang out with the girls and talk, or gossip, or whatever girls do with each other. Besides, I'm sure you're getting tired of hanging around a bunch of boys."

"I don't mind it, really. I have fun hanging out with you guys."

"Yeah, but I'm sure they wanna see you again. Don't worry about Rose, by the way. We got her on some meds that'll keep her lucid around you. Normally, she uses it to chill around Allen, but since she goes nuts around you, we doubled the dosage."

"Wait, you do?" Miku seemed so shocked.

"Ha! No, we just talked with her, and we got her to calm down. We'd never do that to her." I consoled her, and she was relieved. We made it to the door and then Stacy greeted us. After all of the main formalities were all squared away, we got down to business.

"Well, Rick is in the living room, GC. I planned for the extra company, so I left you guys some snacks. Just clean up before you leave, okay?" Stacy explained.

"Sounds good. Actually I have something to talk with you about, Stacy." I took her aside to speak with her in private to discuss a very private matter. "Listen, if Miku asks anything about any secret I'm keeping, bring NOTHING up about my power. I don't want her to know yet. I want to be the one to tell her about it. I just feel like it isn't the right time for it, you know?" Stacy agreed and promised to pass the message off to the other girls. My friends are the only ones to know about this secret power. I'm sure it'll be explained later, but for now, just know I'm no ordinary guy.

Anyway, I went to the living room as Miku was taken upstairs to Stacy's room where they were hanging out. I saw Rick on the couch looking outrageously bored. We greeted each other and then we had our own "gab session."

"So what are you doing here, anyway?" I asked to begin our conversation.

"Well, after the girls leave here, Stacy said that she wanted to make some new clothes." Rick said in reply. "And she needs someone to model for her. I'm the only Linerian on Earth besides her, so…"

"Pfft, she makes you model her clothes?" I laughed.

"Well, we have the same physique!"

"Yeah, except for, um…" I pushed up my chest a bit to prove my point.

"Well, I made a bust model so it can stuff the shirt for me. I don't even have to wear it. She just uses the machine to sew around it."

"So we aren't doing the old grapefruit boob gag? That's a relief. Well after this, I'll invite you over, we'll play some video games, eat some snacks, watch a kung-fu movie, and we'll revive your manhood!"

"I'd like that actually." We laughed and then enjoyed the time like the bros we are. Suddenly, nature called.

"I gotta piss. Where's the bathroom?"

"Too much information, but I'll tell you. It's upstairs, down the hall second to last door on your right. Sit while you go, too. She hates that kind of stuff." I agreed to the terms, went up, found the john, and did my thing. I left the place after the usual semantics, when suddenly I heard something that caught my attention.

"So what's up with you and GC?" I heard Kaylee ask. Obviously this conversation was about me and Miku was the one being interrogated. I couldn't help my curiosity. I had to listen to this.

"What do you mean?" Miku replied.

"I mean, you guys hang out a lot, and I was just curious."

"Well yeah, he helps me around the school, we play music together with his band, and it's always so much fun!"

"I heard that you guys went to the mall last weekend. How did that go?" I heard Stacy ask.

"Oh, it was so much fun!" I was very relieved when I heard this. I was worried that she was just telling me we had fun just to make me feel better about myself. "We did some shopping, got some lunch, and he even took me to the karaoke bar down there. It was so cool!"

"I bet you had the place cheering up a storm after you sang." Rose interjected. Yep, she's still a super fan.

"I guess so, but yeah we had a great time together." Miku finished her recollection.

"So that was it, huh?" Stacy asked. "He didn't try anything too forward on you?"

"O-Of course not!" Miku sounded nervous.

"Yeah, Stacy, you know he wouldn't do that kind of stuff." Kaylee added. I'm glad that she still would defend my honor even though we aren't going out anymore. She knows me quite well.

"But no kiss or anything?" Stacy continued.

"Why does everyone keep asking that? We just hugged, that's all!" Wow, I could hear the blushing from where I was. Okay, not really, but I could tell she was flustered. I was starting to get bored with the conversation after a while, and I decided that it was time to head downstairs.

"So what do you think of GC, anyway?" Kaylee asked. Or, you know, a little bit longer wouldn't hurt, would it?

"Well, he's very nice, super sweet, and such a great friend. I can tell that he cares about me a lot. I don't really know how he feels though." Miku answered. Well, now I was blushing up a storm. I couldn't believe she actually thought about me like that.

"Yeah, but do you like him?" Stacy asked, no doubt putting Miku on the spot.

"Well, he's my friend. I like him a lot, but you know, just like a friend." Hey, I'll take that.

"But is it just as a friend, or do you like him more than that?" Kaylee went on. My curiosity had absolutely piqued. I listened intently.

"I-I don't know, really. I mean I never really thought about him like that, and I don't want to jump the gun or anything... Although there is one thing I know I like about him." My eyes widened. What did I do?

"What is it?" Rose asked. Somehow, I kept forgetting she was in there. She barely said anything.

"It's his way with words." Miku replied. "I can always count on him to say the right thing to make me feel better about things. It's as if he knows just what to say when I need cheering up. The last time he comforted me, he spoke with such confidence and it made me feel so overcome. I can always count on him when I'm feeling sad. He held me when I was crying, and he always tries to make me laugh when I need a smile. It's also adorable when he blushes and gets all flustered when I mess with him. But otherwise, I don't know if I like GC like that." I heard a collective "Awww!" from the girls after she finished. I couldn't help but smile after I heard this. I felt so glad that I left a positive impact on Miku. I was also glad I was able to find out a little bit more about what she thinks about.

"Did he take you to that cliff he always goes to?" Kaylee asked.

"Do you mean Outlook Peak? Well, I actually found it on my own. GC was so surprised when he saw me there. After a while, he seemed like he was disturbed by something. He then told me about the two of you being together, and how it hurt him when you broke up. I could see in his eyes that he needed someone, so I took his hand and told him that everything was alright, and that I'd be there for him just like he's there for me. I felt it would be the nice thing to do, but once he was okay, I felt like I didn't want to let go. Once he took off without an explanation, I felt like he ran because of me, and I felt so guilty. It was like standing there made me see GC in a different light somehow. Maybe I like him, but I just don't really know yet. It may have just been the moment." I was listening too intently to notice the friend of mine coming up behind me to see why I didn't come back from the bathroom.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rick asked me in a whisper after he grabbed my shoulder and got me away from the door.

"I'm sorry, they were talking about me, and I couldn't help myself." I admitted. Rick shook his head, dragged me downstairs and we spoke nothing of what happened that day when we hung out that night. Hey, I promised to revitalize his manhood, I'm a man of my word. I couldn't help but think about what she said, though. I wasn't going to change my ways to suit it. If I use something too much, it ruins the magic. I just decided to stay on course and continue to be Miku's friend. Life had many different twists for me, and I was usually able to overcome them, and Miku is definitely no exception.

Still, nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.


	11. Chapter 11: The Tempting Miku Hatsune

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 11**

The next day at school, a beautiful girl walked in and definitely got the attention of quite a number of guys. Her outfit was outrageously exciting, with her sporting a leather jacket, a white T-shirt that was mildly formfitting, a pair of black pants that matched the jacket, and a pair of boots that had an indiscernible length as her legs were indeed covered by the pants, even though they were rather tight. She got quite a few whistles from the guys around the crowds, and she was relenting at these compliments. Obviously she rarely dresses like this, or else she wouldn't be reacting like this. She went to her locker, went upstairs, and made her way to find her friends. She knew where she was going, as they hang out in that hallway all the time.

Meanwhile, Rick, Allen, Levi, and I were in a heated debate about a very important topic. We constantly had our squabbles, but this time we were really going at it!

"And that's why I say that corn chips are better than potato chips!" I stated.

"Bullshit! You know it's impossible to eat just one!" Levi retorted. "Besides, the flavors of potato chips are what really set them apart!"

"Um, guys…" Rick said, perhaps noticing something.

"Oh yeah, but tortilla chips have to be the best!" Allen added. "They're thick, salty, and awesome for dipping! Who wouldn't like them?"

"I do like tortilla chips." I conceded. "I'll stand by my point that corn chips are the best! Plenty of flavor and crunch, so they're perfect for the munchies!"

"Um, guys!" Rick said again, now certain that he sees something interesting.

"Yeah, but what about Pringles?" Levi continued.

"Oh those don't even count in this argument!" Allen argued.

"Yeah! They're potato _crisps_, not chips." I added. "Chips and crisps are two totally different things!"

"GUYS!" Rick yelled attempting to get our attention, and succeeding.

"WHAT?!" The three of us yelled in unison. We then heard a familiar voice that made my heart jump.

"Hey there, guys! What's up?" I recognized the voice as Miku right away. I turned to her to return the greeting.

"I know that voice anywhere! Hey Mikuuuu…" My voice trailed off as my eyes were met with a surprising sight! Miku was dressed completely differently then how she usually does. She had a leather jacket, a white T-shirt… a pair of… black skinny jeans… and high heel… boots… Wait, that girl from the beginning was MIKU?! HOLY SHIT! We all looked upon her.

"Oh my God!" Rick said slowly.

"Heh, not too bad." Allen added, seeming the most confident out of all of us. Now that I thought about it, the outfit Miku was wearing struck a resemblance to Allen's usual look. Perhaps he was flattered there?

"Uh…" Levi just stood there speechless and absolutely stunned.

"Well, I'm glad you all seem to like my new outfit." Miku said with a giggle. How a girl with such a sexy looking outfit can still seem so innocent is something I'll never quite understand. I'm not even going to deny it this time; Miku looked freaking HOT! The leather sort of made me think of a certain anime that I honestly haven't seen yet, but I know that Miku constantly gets mistaken for the character. She was sort of flaunting the outfit a bit to show us the whole package. I suddenly was at a complete loss for words. Levi was the first to speak up.

"Uh, if you guys will excuse me, I think I gotta use the bathroom." He seemed weak.

"Sheesh, Levi, she looks great." I said to him. "You aren't going to throw up about it, are you?" A guy throwing up at the sight of a hot girl… that's some serious DNA² shit right there…

"Well no, but um, I kinda have a little *ahem* issue down below." Somehow I was able to tell exactly what he was referring to, and I didn't like it.

"Oh dude, that's sick! Fine, take care of what you need to, but seriously calm down!" I was attempting to feel confident as Levi left to attend to his "problem" but I felt just as nervous, if not more. Suddenly I felt Allen smack me on the back in a friendly gesture.

"Way to go, GC." He said with a mild snark to his tone. "Getting your girlfriend to dress all hot for you? You got some game, man!" My face erupted in a serious blood rush. I think I saw Miku jump a little bit as well.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" I calmly reminded him. "And I didn't make her do this! Do you honestly think I would stoop this low?!"

"Well, I mean, you haven't been in the game for a while, so naturally you'd-"

"HEY! Shut up!" Allen busted out laughing at my embarrassment. "Like I said, I had no hand in this matter."

"Whatever, man. Well I better get to class. The teacher's gonna go ape shit on me if I'm late again. Peace." Allen started walking but stopped to make one last comment on Miku's outfit. "Seriously, you look great. I like the use of leather." With that he left after Miku thanked him.

"You know, I kind of need to get to homeroom, too." Rick said slyly. "I have a bit of homework that I put off until today, so I better get it done while I still can." I grabbed Rick by his collar before he could walk away.

"Dude, please don't leave me alone with her." I whispered to Rick, not wanting Miku to hear me.

"Relax, GC. You'll be fine." He walked into the classroom with a smirk. I could swear I heard him chuckle a bit when he left.

"I hate you. I hate all of you." I said under my breath. I then turned to Miku, and immediately my ability to speak disappeared.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me for now, huh?" Miku asked. "I hope I didn't surprise you too much." I was still unable to speak. "You know, I had a lot of fun with your friends yesterday. They're so nice! Thank you for bringing me over to Stacy's house." Once again, my vocal prowess was long gone. I just couldn't stop looking at it all. Miku suddenly took notice. "You really seem to like my new clothes, GC. What do you actually think of them?"

I was able to force one word out. "…Amazing." Miku smiled, and soon I was able to regain a bit of my composure. "…So uh, where did you get this outfit anyway?" I finally asked.

"Well, Stacy made it for me. While you and Rick were downstairs, Stacy offered to make me this outfit. At first I was a bit opposed to it, but now that I'm in it, I really like it. I see why Allen likes to wear it so often." Miku laughed. I tried to laugh too, but I was too overcome to make anything happen.

"Okay, so why exactly are you wearing it?" I asked the other question on my mind.

"I mainly wanted to wear it so Stacy would be happy, but now I really enjoy it. It's really cute, don't you think?" Miku asked with a smile.

"I have many different descriptions for that outfit, but 'cute' doesn't immediately come to mind." I admitted. I meant nothing negative by this, for the record.

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"How did you get to be able to wear that in school? It's rather, uh, revealing don't you think?" I was concerned.

"It's less revealing than you think, GC."

"Tight T-shirt, skinny jeans, boots that I can't tell the length of… yeah they don't seem formfitting at all." I rolled my eyes.

"It's actually very comfy, and I did end up going to the office for a little bit to make sure if I could wear it. They were alright with it as it shows nothing inappropriate, so everything is fine with it, GC."

"I just don't want you to get in trouble because of this, you know? I worry about you."

"There's nothing for you to worry about with it. By the way, you're talking a lot better now. What was wrong?"

"The shock of the outfit and seeing you in it made me lose my head for a second."

"Is it really that bad?" Miku seemed worried.

"No way. Y-you look amazing." I choked a bit as I spoke.

"Aw, thank you, GC. I'm really glad you like it." She then came up to me and gave me a hug. This time felt way different from the last times I hugged her. Seeing her in these very exciting clothes made it almost feel like it was a different person hugging me; it was so weird. I guess clothes really do make the man, or in this case, it makes the woman.

"Uh…" I was stunned once again. I didn't want to try hugging her this time. Seriously, the outfit was so formfitting; it was almost like hugging someone that was naked. Yeah I was nervous about the whole thing. It was a side of Miku I never expected to see with my own eyes, and I wasn't certain if I liked it. I just stood there in her grip in a nervous sweat.

"Hey, it's okay. You know you can hug me, right?" Miku reassured me.

"It didn't really cross my mind." I squeaked.

"GC, you're so silly." Miku laughed. Somehow that made it harder to hug her. Soon I found my courage to put my arms around her, but not really squeeze tightly. I think it was looser than the first time we hugged. It was enough to satisfy Miku, though. We released and then we prepared for class to begin once again.

"You don't honestly need my help again today, do you?" I asked her, hoping she would allow me off the hook this time. It was nothing against her, but I just can't handle seeing her in such a sexy get-up. "I think I showed you around enough for now."

"I don't know." Miku said, smirking. "I think I still need a little help for today. With all these different classes and rooms I have to remember, I think I need you to keep me on the right track."

"Oh well, alright. I'll be happy to help you out again." I was sort of lying. I have to be taunted by Miku's sexy clothes for the rest of the day. I knew that Miku was nice enough to show someone some compassion for their work and wear it for them, but this suit didn't feel like her in a way. Why was she really wearing it? Why did she care so much about my opinion of it? Why does it feel like I'm being teased? Is she actually teasing me? I know I ask this a lot, but what the hell goes on through her mind?

Miku Hatsune is definitely one of the most mysterious girls I've ever met.


	12. Chapter 12: Lunches Lost, Trust Gained

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 12**

The day went on well enough, and then the next day had arisen. I was relieved to find Miku was wearing her usual attire, as I'm sure if I saw her in that outfit one more time, I'm sure I'd end up in the bathroom like Levi was. Not to mention, Rick and Allen would never let me hear the end of it. Once again, Miku needed my help showing her to her classes once again. After math class, I ran to get my lunch and Rick and I made an immediate v-line towards the cafeteria.

"Hey, don't you need to meet Miku downstairs or something?" Rick reminded me.

"Oh shit! Thanks Rick, I'll see you later." I turned back and ran to find her. To my surprise, I found her waiting for me at her locker just like when I helped her on her first day. I was genuinely surprised by this, and I couldn't help but be curious about why she was there in the first place.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Miku said once I arrived.

"Right now, I'm wondering why you're waiting for me by now." I responded.

"Huh? What's wrong with me waiting for you?" Miku looked at me with concern.

"I mean, you should know the way to the cafeteria by now. I could've sworn I saw you on the way to the lunchroom, anyway…"

"I know my way there, yes, but you always come down before I go down on my own, so there's really no big deal."

"But you could've easily gone to the lunchroom on your own then, right?" She was actually prepared to go down there anyway. She had her lunchbox and her backpack appeared to have been restocked for the second half of her day. "What gives?"

"This had nothing to do with me not knowing where to go this time. I just wanted to walk down with you because you're my friend." Even if I was getting used to Miku's friendship, I still couldn't help but blush a little at this.

"Quit it!" I said while feeling embarrassed. "Let's just get moving. I'm starving!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry, too." We walked up to the cafeteria. She stopped before we entered.

"What's the matter?" I asked her.

"I want to fill up my water bottle first. I'll be inside in a little bit. You go ahead." Miku replied.

"Cool, I'll make sure to save you a spot." I said, and then I turned to walk into the lunchroom, complete with the usual swig: tons of loud noise coming from the loud array of conversations ongoing at different tables, obnoxious douchebags that make even more noise, and the putrid stench of what was to be served as lunch for the day. Let's just say it doesn't seem like we want to know what the mystery meat is in the dry as hell cheeseburgers. I found our table and took my seat, and then I pulled an extra chair next to me for Miku.

"Where's Miku?" Rick asked.

"She said she was filling up her water bottle. She'll be out soon." I replied.

"What's the deal with you two, anyway?" Someone else at our table asked. "You guys hang out quite a bit."

"We're just great friends; nothing more." I replied.

"Yeah sure you are." Someone else said.

"What are you talking about? We've settled this dispute a while ago."

"I saw you guys at the mall the other day, and you looked like you were enjoying yourselves."

"Well yeah. It was just a thing to hang out with her and get to know her better. And before you ask, no, nothing happened between us. No hook up, no kiss, nothing, so DON'T EVEN BOTHER ASKING!" I kind of lost my temper.

"Damn, calm down dude. I just meant that you looked like you guys were having fun. Don't kill me over that." They laughed, but I avoided laughing because if I lose my temper too greatly, I COULD actually kill him.

"Yeah, but seriously, leave me alone with that stuff alright? Miku and I are great friends, and I'm happy to be that way."

"Alright then, Mr. Red Face, we'll back off." Rick said, commenting on my blushing. Seriously, why can I not control this? Anyway, after a little while, Miku appeared in the room.

"Hey!" I signaled her to where we were. Miku attempted to make her way through the crowds instead of the easier way: going around the tables to make it to us.

"Why is she doing that? She knows that she can go around, right?" Rick brought up.

"I haven't the slightest idea. I guess she's just trying to get to her seat around this way without having us move over. Otherwise, this is ridiculous." I added. I saw her weave through the crowd and make it through no problem. Suddenly, someone backed up at the last second and Miku ended up tripping and falling on her face and into her bento.

"Dear God! MIKU!" I ran over to her to ensure that she was alright. On my way, I couldn't help but overhear the cries of "Ooooooo" coming from our table. I have such great friends, right? Once I made it to the scene, I helped Miku up a little. "Hey, you alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said rather weakly. She had a little bit of rice on her face from the box. I then turned to the guy in the chair.

"Dude, watch it! You could've really hurt her!" I scolded.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't see her." He replied.

"Yeah and besides, I should've looked where I was going." Miku added. "You don't have to worry about it."

"Well I'm just glad you're alright."I sighed with relief, and then looked down to the crushed bento. "I don't know if I can say the same for your lunch, though." It was in quite a state. After she fell onto it, the box was destroyed, the rice went all over the place which ruined the sushi she brought, some of the food was smashed beyond edibility, and any food that managed to remain whole ended up on the floor, which made it even worse.

"Oh no, my lunch!" Miku exclaimed. "Aw, it's ruined!"

"Heh, wow, that's ironic. You got a face full of your food and you can't even eat it now, huh?" I chuckled to attempt to lighten the mood. Miku glared at me. Clearly she was not amused. "Okay, I'm sorry. Here, let me help you clean it up." We gathered the wreckage and carried it to the garbage. We made our way to our table (in the much safer manner) and recollected the events. I felt so bad about what happened. I wanted to do something for her, but I couldn't think of what I could do.

"What happened?" Rick asked.

"A guy backed up as Miku was passing, she tripped, and her lunch was destroyed in the process." I explained.

"Wow that sucks."

"What am I going to do now?" Miku asked, seeming very worried. "I don't want to go hungry for the rest of the day." My heart dropped. I didn't want her to go hungry at all. She doesn't deserve that.

"I guess you're going to have to charge a meal." Someone at our table said. "It won't matter so long as you can pay it back later."

"So I have to get something from here? But you guys say it's disgusting!" Miku looked so worried.

"We have to endure it, Miku." Rick said.

"Well, alright then, I guess. I'll go up and get something." She seemed so sad about it, almost disappointed. I couldn't bear listening to her suffering anymore, and there's no way I wanted her to eat the shit our school serves us. Nobody deserves that. I knew what I had to do.

"NOT ON MY WATCH!" I stood up. "I'm not letting you go through with this, Miku."

"GC? What are you talking about?"

"I'm not letting you starve yourself for the day. Or worse, make you eat that slime." I took a deep breath and made my move. "Here, you can have my sandwich." Miku didn't really know what to make of the situation.

"Hey, you don't have to do this for me. I'll be fine." Miku tried talking me out of this.

"Please take it. I insist." I handed her my roast beef and pastrami sandwich, which she reluctantly took. It wasn't like she thought it looked gross, but that she didn't want to make me starve through the day for her.

"Th-thank you, GC. You seriously didn't need to do this." Miku blushed.

"Uh, it's my pleasure." I stammered. I couldn't look her in the eye because I couldn't handle seeing her blush like that. Her face practically glows, and her eyes sparkle like diamonds. Around my friends, I knew it wouldn't be a good idea.

"Awwwwwwwww!" The people at my table chorused.

"SH-SHUT UP!" I said through my blood rush.

"Y-yeah. He probably has an extra sandwich, right?" Miku said with a large amount of nerves in her voice. Clearly she was having issues with others misunderstanding the situation as well.

"You mean like this one here?" Rick held up the sandwich I gave him earlier today. "I don't think so."

"Wait, so you're really giving me this?" Miku asked me. I was too stunned to speak, so I just nodded.

"Take this as the best compliment that he can give, Miku." Rick went on. "He lives to eat, so if he gives you his food, you're something seriously special to him." I twitched after he said this.

"But he makes you extra sandwiches every now and then." Miku was still trying to find a better explanation to all of this.

"We're buds, so he looks out for me when he can. He's supported me for a while, so I'm fine with it. Besides, an extra sandwich is different because he made it for me. He gave you the food he was about to eat. For someone like him to do that, that not only takes guts, but he must have you very high on his list. Trust me, I know him better than anyone."

"Wow… uh…" Miku was stuck for words.

"Rick, one more word out of you and I'll pinch your head off of your neck!" I threatened. I wanted him to go no further.

"Thank you GC. I really appreciate this." Miku said to me.

"Y-you're welcome." I said weakly. She then took a bite of her newly acquired lunch. "Is it alright?" I couldn't help but ask her.

"It's not bad, actually." Miku replied. "But do you honestly eat this all the time?"

"Mostly I make some mean peanut butter sandwiches." I said with a smile.

"That can't possibly healthy all the time, you know."

"That's one more reason why sparring really helps me out. I get a great workout from it and it burns off the food. It's the best exercise out there that happens to be free!"

"But don't you think you could feel stronger and more willing to fight if you had a more fulfilling lunch? I bet you could be super strong if you had better stuff for you."

"What's your point?"

"Maybe I can help you out with that. What if I made a bigger lunch and we can share it every other day?"

"Are you serious? You work yourself ragged to make those things, I'm sure. Don't make it tougher on yourself!" I felt concerned. Naturally, bento boxes are difficult to make, and they are very time consuming. I didn't want Miku going crazy over it.

"First of all, it isn't that hard. You know I'm a solid enough cook. Second, I feel like this would be a good way to pay you back for this." Miku had quite an energy boost. She loves defending her points apparently.

"Look, you don't have to do this because I gave you my sandwich or whatever. I wasn't asking for payment or whatever. I just did it because I didn't want you to be without a lunch. Also, if you're all about healthy stuff, then the school lunches will NOT do it for you at all! I had no other choice, you know?" I explained.

"I'm not doing it just because I wanna pay you back." Miku turned away momentarily. "I want to because I care about you." I turned away even further.

"Yeah, well I gave you my lunch because I care about you too. You don't have to do anything for me. Besides, I don't want to be any trouble, you know."

"GC, I want to. It won't be that much harder, and it won't matter so long as you're alright. Besides, do you really think it would bother me if I offered?" Miku giggled. Something felt rather nostalgic about that question.

"Fine, but don't feel like you have to all the time." I finally relented.

"Well then, it's settled. I'll make extra lunch so that we can share!" Miku seemed strangely pleased with this. She cares about me? I'm sure it's just because I'm a good friend of hers and just like me, she cares about her friends. Still it felt like there was something there. My face was on fire, and my "friends" were making taunting faces. I flipped them off and we just finished our meals.

Dear God, Miku just keeps finding ways to drive me wild, and I wonder if she knows that.


	13. Chapter 13: The Test of the Singers

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 13**

The school day had subsided quite nicely, and then the buses beckoned us to send us home. However, even though our school day had ended, the day itself was still young, so band practice was next in our schedule. Miku is now a regular attendee to these practices, but unfortunately, she was unable to ride our bus with us. It was no problem to us anyway, as we decided on a solid rendezvous after we head down: Miku would wait at the corner by her street and would meet us to walk down with us. We met up, we walked down, and we made it to the shack. Allen and Levi were there before we were once again. We greeted each other and then Miku said something rather shocking.

"So what are we going to sing today, Master?" Miku asked, directing it at me. I jumped about ten feet when she said this. Okay, maybe I exaggerated, but I was still shocked.

"HEY! Who're you callin' 'Master'?" I asked back, obviously still surprised. Miku just giggled at my stupor.

"I'm talking to you, of course, you silly goose. It's your band isn't it? You make all of the plans and decide what we play and all that, right? I consider anyone who helps me sing and teaches me new songs my master, so that's why I'm calling you my master." Miku smiled. I couldn't take it anymore.

"GAH! Listen to me right now, Miku! First of all, it isn't _my_ band. It belongs to everyone here. It prevents a superiority complex in everyone and keeps everyone happy. Secondly, I don't really choose what songs we play. I've been choosing them for you mainly because I'm the only one that knows your songs at all. Normally we rotate decision making. Finally, I am NOBODY'S master, alright? Especially not yours. Nothing against you or anything, but it's just that when you call me that, it feels like you're nothing but property. I don't own you! It's like you're a maid or something. I refuse to consider you anything less than what you are."

"Would you rather I called you 'Manager' or 'Boss' then?"

"No! Seriously, GC is fine for me. I already have one nickname, I don't need another one. Sheesh!" I heard a little bit of banter in the background.

"Why is he so worried about her calling him 'Master'?" Levi whispered to Rick. "It would make him a leader wouldn't it? That'd be awesome in his situation!"

"I think he doesn't want to feel like he controls her." Rick answered. "He has a ton of respect for her, so he probably wants her to feel like an equal."

"Pssh, are you sure it's not because he likes her or something?" Levi joked.

"No!" Rick and I answered together. He backed off, and then we got back to business.

"Well anyway, seriously what are we gonna do today?" Miku asked, seeming very eager to sing.

"Actually, I was thinking you could take a seat and just listen to our music today." I offered. This time it was Miku's turn to be shocked.

"What? You don't want me to sing?" She seemed so worried. I can understand this. It's sort of like that whole thing with Tarzan. You can take the man out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the man. In this case, you can take the singer from the music, but you can't take music from her. Not to worry, though. I had a better plan for her.

"It's not that per se, Miku." I admitted. "It occurs to me that you haven't actually heard our music yet. I mean I know you've heard us play your songs to the best of our ability, but you haven't heard our music when we played before we met you. I thought you'd wanna hear us at full form, you know?"

"That's… actually not a bad idea, GC." Rick mentioned. "It's been a while since we played our own stuff, and she never actually heard us, so I think it'd be kind of cool."

"I'm in!" Allen continued.

"Me too!" Levi added.

"Well, that's good, but I feel like it's mainly Miku's decision to make here." I suggested, and then I turned to her. "So what do you think?"

"It's just I thought you liked my singing. Am I really that bad?" She responded. Oh boy, she's taking it the wrong way.

"No, no, no, it's not that at all! I told you!" I defended the point. "It's just that I… want you to hear us perform. I… wanna play a song for you, that's all…" I assume you know I was blushing, so I won't bring it up. "It'll just be one song, too. After we play, you can have the microphone back, I promise."

"You… you promise?" Wow, I never thought this would be tough on her. Words of the wise: Never tell a singer she can't sing.

"You have my word. It's your turn to relax. Have a seat and enjoy!" She relented and planted herself on a chair set up for the audience, and then we began warming up for the song. Allen tuned the guitar to the perfect set of notes, Rick tested his drums to make sure they sounded correct, Levi fired up his turntables to mix the sound and provide serious scratching sound, and I warmed up my vocal chords, preparing to make this song sound awesome. I needed a good amount of time to prepare, as I felt a little rusty. Miku was doing the singing for us during these last few practices, so I haven't had a good opportunity to flex the golden pipes. After about a minute or so, we assumed our ready positions. "Alright guys, you ready?" I asked my cohorts.

"Yeah!" Allen shouted in response.

"Alright!" Levi yelled after him.

"Let's do it!" Rick bellowed, and then he began the classic duty of a drummer: counting us in. "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!" Soon the guitar began to wail, the drums were blasting, and the scratches rocked the floor with incredible sounding music. Perhaps this could be bias toward my own band, but I doubt we sound too shabby. I don't think we'd win any battles of the bands, but we could get some solid gigs.

The first minute of the song went very well for everyone, and I stayed on key without fail, but soon I began to think more about the audience that I was performing for. Soon a shocking thought crossed my mind: _Oh my God! I'm playing a song for Miku. I'm playing music for Miku Hatsune!_ Suddenly I began to sweat and shake. My nerves suddenly found their way through my psyche and affected my voice in the worst way possible. I heard my voice shake, my breath shortened, and I suddenly found myself figuratively choking. I soon found myself losing my place, singing off key, and I was losing my timing. I couldn't see myself finishing the song without looking like the biggest fool in the entire universe, but somehow we continued. I surmise the others didn't hear my mistakes, which honestly made me feel worse. The final measure of the song was played and we finished our song, or their song and my train wreck.

"Woo-hoo! That was AWESOME!" Rick cheered.

"Man, that felt great to do again!" Allen rejoiced.

"There's nothing like rockin' like the old days, right?" Levi shouted joyously.

"Wow, that sounded great, you guys!" Miku applauded. "You seriously thought you needed me that badly? You guys sound totally awesome!" The others thanked her with equal enthusiasm, while I just stood there frozen in shame. It took a little bit for Miku to notice my dilemma. "Hey, you alright GC?"

"Not really, Miku." I sheepishly admitted.

"What's the matter, buddy?" Rick asked.

"I messed everything up. I totally sucked."

"What are you talking about?" Allen inquired.

"My…my nerves got the best of me. I totally choked. I'm sorry!" I felt so ashamed.

"GC, take it easy." Levi said. "It's not like she knows how the song was supposed to sound anyway, right?"

"Uh…yeah…about that…" I started to say.

"Well at least this explains why you had me listen to that song earlier." Miku said rather slowly.

"GC, YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Allen and Levi demanded to know.

"It felt honorable to have her know how it sounds normally, right? She knows we cover songs, so I wanted her to hear one of the songs we did." The guys looked at me with such disappointment. Those looks didn't help m in my feeling of disgrace.

"GC, it's okay." Miku suddenly told me. "This sort of stuff happens to me all the time."

"YOU?" I was shocked. "Since when do you freak during a show?"

"Well, it usually happens with the first song during a concert in a new town. Even if I'm surrounded by my fans, I still get a little nervous with the first song. Trust me, it happens to everyone, GC. Even pro singers get a little stage fright every now and then."

"Seriously? Well uh…"

"It's fine, GC. You guys did a good job, and you're a great singer, GC." She was obviously trying to make me feel better by trying to sympathize with me, but somehow it was working. She then hugged me, which pretty much sealed the deal. I sure felt better. "There, do you feel better now?"

"Y-yeah, I do. Thanks, Miku. I appreciate it." I tried to stay cool, but my beet red face probably gave away the fact that I was internally bouncing off the walls. Why is it that when Miku hugs me, I always feel like blasting off to the moon?

"Aw, ain't that sweet?" Levi joked. "Maybe I should overreact to stuff like this." I flipped Levi the bird and we then went back to playing how we have been: Miku was the singer and I dusted off the key-tar. Things strangely felt like they were normal, and it was a nice feeling to know that Miku felt like she was back where she belonged.

After practice, we said goodbye to everyone, and once again, I walked Miku home. By now, it pretty much became habitual, so it would be wrong of me to ditch her when she seems so used to walking with me, right? We talked on the way, and this time, it's worth sharing.

"Thanks again for that little pep talk, Miku." I said. "You really got me out of that funk."

"Of course, GC." Miku smiled. "I told you, I'm here for you just like you're here for me. I meant that, you know."

"Uh, you remember that day, huh?" I began to sweat in nerves.

"Yeah, and I still go down there sometimes to enjoy the view. It's always so beautiful." She sort of shot me a subtle look that made me believe that she was thinking something like _Wish you could be there with me_. I'm looking too deeply into it, I'm sure.

"Well, maybe I'll check it out again sometime. I haven't needed that therapeutic breath of fresh air in a while." That was actually a lie. I was just afraid to go down there and that my feelings would be showing. "I also had a great time last weekend with you."

"Yeah, I did too. I'm sure you remember though." How could I forget that? She wasn't taking the hint.

"I… kind of want to… do something this weekend too…" I slowly said. This time felt a little easier to ask, but not by much.

"That sounds fun, actually. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow!" Miku lit up with excitement in a way.

"Really? Awesome! What do you want to do? It's your choice this time, Miku." I wasn't about to let her go easily.

"How about we hang out at your house this time?" Miku answered after pondering the thought a minute. "I think it could be fun to just relax and talk or do whatever. Is that alright?"

"Uh… I guess that'd be okay. We have a TV, an Xbox, an air hockey table, a nice couch, movies, and I could make popcorn. I think that'd be okay." I was worried sick.

"Okay! I'll be down at around 2 o' clock or so. Does that sound good?"

"A-Alright! Tomorrow at two at my house, I got it!" I agreed.

"Awesome! I'll see you then, GC!" Miku said as she hugged me goodbye. I walked home rather slowly. Miku would be coming over. She'd be in my house. My family will meet her.

Dear God, please help me!


	14. Chapter 14: GC's Ultimate Test

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 14**

The next morning I finally awoke myself completely from my state of shock. I still couldn't believe Miku told me she wanted to hang out with me at my house. I suddenly remembered that the den was an atrocity to the eyes, because there were toys and junk everywhere without any coherence whatsoever. I took it upon myself to clean that room until it sparkled, or at the very least until you could sit in there comfortably. After that, I touched up my room and a few things in the house. Even though I planned on being with her in the den most of the time, I anticipated Miku wanting to check a few things out in the house as well, even though I would seriously not recommend that, as my dog would be all over her and bark uncontrollably, but I wasn't about to take any chances. My parents thought I was overreacting a little bit, as this is just a friend of mine. As you can guess, I didn't tell them that I liked her. To be honest, I'm not sure if those feelings I had earlier were quite how I feel about her now. I was outrageously happy to meet her and excited to know that we were friends, but I knew of her beforehand and I was and still am a huge fan of her music. Perhaps what I felt that first day wasn't true love, but rather a fan boy's crush. It almost feels like my feelings have grown in a way I never thought possible. I guess I was starting to _really_ like her, and not just for what she does, but for who she is on the inside. I'm beginning to know her as a person, but this could still have fan-like tendencies, so I wanted to keep it simple between the two of us for now. If one acts too soon for a relationship, the friendship could be ruined beyond repair, and I still wanted to be her friend no matter what, so I was not about to succumb to any, dare I say, "urges" I may have.

I wolfed down my lunch in a flash, and then I found myself waiting for her arrival. I grew impatient awaiting the clock to strike for the second hour. I tried watching TV, playing video games, playing on my cell phone, drawing, and anything else to help pass the time, but the fact that I was awaiting something I was excited for, and that I was fully aware of the time, I found myself in my own personal Hell of watching the time inch along like a snail across a wooden plank. School even felt faster than time creeping along like this, and that's saying something. Soon the time was 45 minutes after one, and a thought soon crossed my mind: _She's never actually _seen _my house, has she? I should probably go down to her place and help show her the way!_ I slipped into my black sneakers, threw on my gray over-shirt on top of my red T-shirt with gray sleeves, and ran out the door faster than a bullet out of a semi-automatic. I slowed to a walk and made my way down the path to her house, and sure enough…

"Hi GC, uh, what are you doing here?" Miku was already on her way to my house. Somehow I wasn't entirely surprised, and yet I still was mildly breathless because of this.

"Well, I thought I'd walk down with you." I explained with a mild tremble in my voice. "You never saw my house, so I thought I'd show you the way."

"Are you sure you didn't want to just see me sooner?" Miku giggled.

"Well I mean, I wanted to see you, but I seriously wanted to help you. You don't know where I live, do you?"

"Uh… okay you have a point." Miku relented. Clearly she was trying to tease me, but this attempt was averted. We walked down after a quick laugh. We turned the corner and we found the house near the end of the street. "Wow, this is your house, GC?"

"Uh yeah, but it's nowhere near your house. Not even the one you live in NOW!" I admitted. "Don't seem so surprised by it."

"Oh come on, GC, it looks like such a cute house. What are we waiting for? Let's go!" She was so eager to head in, and I had no choice but to get moving. This is especially apparent due to the fact that Miku was pulling me by my arm and dashed to my front porch. I walked up to the door, and right away I heard my dog, Jessie, begin to howl like a mad hound. I opened the door and she ran right at Miku and was pawing at her to beg for her attention. Without hesitation, I grabbed the dog and held her back as best as I could. Sooner or later, I managed to calm her down enough for there to be silence in the house. The dog went to my room and lay in my bed.

"Geez, I'm sorry about all of that, Miku." I apologized. "But I can't say I didn't warn you about her being crazy!"

"But she was such a cute puppy!" Miku replied. I guess she likes animals. "She seems like so much fun to play with."

"Yeah… fun…sure. Anyway, I guess I should introduce you to the folks. Come with me." I walked her up the staircase and presented my friend to my parents. In a normal situation, they probably would have been a little curious about her appearance, but since they know Rick, nothing seems to surprise them. They said that it was nice to meet her and I told them that we were going to hang out in the den downstairs, and after all of the formalities were settled, we were on our way.

"Wow, this looks pretty nice." Miku said once we got in and when she took a good look around.

"Thanks. It's nice to come down here to hang out sometimes." I admitted. Suddenly, my pet cat, Jax, appeared and began rubbing against Miku's leg. He's a very loving animal. Miku's face suddenly brightened. She let out an excited squeal.

"NEKO!" She uttered with such an excited tone.

"E-excuse me?" I wasn't sure what she said there. I guess that was Japanese.

"I love kitties! They're so cute and snuggly! I just love petting them and hearing them purr! Oh my God! What a sweetie!" She happily ranted. I often forget that Japanese citizens are normally cat people. (Some of them literally.) After Jax got his fill of petting, he went into the laundry room, and I let him have his privacy.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked her. "It's your call."

"Uh, I'm not sure." Miku thought for a second. "What movies do you have?" I took her over to our collection of DVDs and I instructed her to choose one. After poking around for a little bit, she chose a rather cute title for us to watch. I didn't object to the fact that it was mainly my little brother's movie, since I haven't seen him watch it in a while. Come to think of it, Cameron was nowhere to be found at the moment. My guess is that he was either playing with the Wii upstairs or using his children's tablet somewhere else. Hey, it's fine since he's usually a pain in the neck. We popped in the movie and I went upstairs to make some popcorn for us. I honestly forgot how solid of a movie it was. It wasn't a cartoon, but it had its kiddy elements, I suppose. The flick ended and we both sat on the couch, unsure of what to do next.

"Uh, so now what do you want to do, Miku?" I asked her.

"I don't know; why don't we just sit and talk for a bit?" She responded. To be honest, we rarely got a chance to really chat with each other outside of text messaging. I thought it would be great to have a nice conversation with her where I didn't have to read anything. Does this chat have anything to do with the advancement of the story? Well… no. Allow me to jump ahead to where I noticed that Miku became a bit uncomfortable for some reason. Also, let me turn on some omniscience here as well, since we should probably hear Miku's thoughts to get a full grasp on the situation.

_Ah, these boots are starting to make me itch a bit._ Miku thought. _Hmm, maybe I can use this to have a little fun._ She started lightly massaging her leg and I took notice as she let out a small moan of discomfort.

"Uh… is something wrong?" I asked.

"GC, these boots are killing me right now." Miku replied with a more alluring tone than her usual speech pattern.

"W-well that's what you get for wearing those thigh-high boots all the time." I stammered a little, and my face began to heat up.

"Yeah, do you mind if I take them off for a little bit?" She looked me straight in my eye with a smile on her face.

"Um… S-sure, I guess that'd be alright." I was nervous without a shadow of a doubt. I thought it would be as simple as her unzipping the boots and slipping them off with no problem, but she was moaning as she was removing them, thus further increasing my anxiety. After she got them off, she was wiggling her toes inside her knee socks.

"Hah, thank you, GC. I feel a little better." Miku sighed. What was she up to?

"W-why just a little better?" I asked her as my heart began to speed up.

"These socks are a little itchy too. Do you mind if I take them off too?" Her tone was still rather seductive. I began to sweat.

"Um… N-n-not at all. G-go ahead." I couldn't believe what I was saying. Soon enough she was slowly removing her socks and moaning with pleasure throughout. What was she doing? Seriously, I was losing it! Her feet were soon free of the socks and she wiggled her toes once more. Miku looked at me with such a look that would make even the man with the lowest testosterone level in the world excited.

_He seems a bit nervous._ She thought. _I should probably up the ante a bit. It's time to really make him squirm._ She took the bowl of popcorn and began to enjoy some more of it. We didn't eat too much during the movie, so we still had plenty. When I say that she was enjoying it, I'm not kidding when I say that, as she made mild noise while eating. She also licked her fingers a little bit as well. I was fighting every urge to scream. (To be honest, she was playing on a fetish of mine. I'm not going into this though.)

"Hey GC, wanna play a game with me?" She asked suddenly, but keeping her seductive tone.

"Uh, sure." My voice trembled. "I-I have lots of games here. Just pick one, and we'll play." I was seriously hoping that that was what she meant, even though it obviously wasn't.

"You don't seem to be catching my drift, GC." See what I mean? "All we really need for this game is the popcorn." An almost evil smirk came over her face. I was suddenly terrified of what could happen. By the way, in case you're wondering why I'm not trying to stop her from doing this, I was honestly waiting for her to say that she was just messing around. Hey, girls do that to me all the time, so it surprises me a lot less than what Miku was up to.

"W-w-what kind o-of g-game is this?" I weakly asked. I could hardly speak as it was tough for me to breathe.

"It's simple, really. I keep my eyes closed, and you have to put a piece into my mouth." This concept sounded familiar, although I remember it being the person with the popcorn had his eyes closed. This was sadly in a hentai dating simulator I stumbled upon on the Internet, so my reaction was imminent.

"W-W-WHAT!?" I was practically petrified. Why was she doing this to me? I had a terrible desire to run, but I was so stunned that I was unable to move from my spot on the couch. She giggled and then opened her mouth wide to begin the game. I should've stopped her at this moment, but I couldn't get my voice to work correctly without sounding like a jerk. I could hardly move at all, and all I could do was just stare and try to wake myself up from this.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Miku said; her eyes still closed. I had no choice but to play her sick game. I noticed a loophole in the rules, however, so I felt that I was able to relax a bit. She never said anything about _how_ I get the popcorn into her mouth, so I was just ready to throw it in like that beanbag toss game at the carnival. I tossed it lightly and it landed directly on target.

"Swish! Two points!" I said; feeling better by a miniscule amount. Miku opened her eyes and seemed disappointed.

"Okay, so you got it that time, but let me make it harder for you." I seriously hope she was referring to the game! Once again, she shut her eyes, but this time she opened her mouth less than before. There was no way I'd be able to throw a piece in with such a small target. I thought of how I could get it in without touching her, and before I thought of a good idea…

"Oh, and by the way, I can't help you get the popcorn inside my mouth, so you have to do that part yourself." Damn it, she caught me. I then realized that I was trapped and had no other alternative. With a deep breath, I took a piece, motioned it to her lips, and then ever so slightly, I pushed the kernel through. I then tried to get my finger away from there as quickly as I could, but before I knew it, Miku closed her lips around my finger.

"Mmmm…" She moaned as she lightly sucked on it.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGHH!" I was seriously fighting to hold back a scream, even though I was practically _bellowing_ internally. My nose also began to bleed a lot, as if someone turned on a blood faucet in there. Kind of reminds me of Naruto. She released my appendage from that warm, moist cavity. AH, no I didn't like it, LEAVE ME ALONE!

"Mmm, that was some good popcorn." Miku said to me slowly with such a sexy tone that I'm sure Levi would've lost his shit completely. As for me, well my heart was playing a drum roll, my face was the reddest it has ever been, and I was sweating buckets. Combine that with my freaked out expression, my severely trembling voice, and my heavy breathing, you can easily deduce that I was about gone. I still resisted everything in my mind telling me to try for her now, even though it was a difficult task.

_Wow, that was kind of surprising._ Miku thought. _I guess he's so nervous he can hardly speak. I guess it's time to finish it. If this doesn't get him, nothing will._ She looked right into my eyes and I could sense some tension in the air. I was sitting on my hands at this point, because I didn't want to do something I'd regret; well, something else that I'd regret anyway. She put her arms around me and looked at me with such desire. I was fighting every attraction I was feeling. Normally I'd be happy about this kind of situation, but something didn't seem quite right.

"You're so tense, GC. It's so cute the way you blush when I'm near you. I just want to…" She leaned forward, causing me to fall backwards to hold her off, but that just made it worse, and before I knew it, she was slowly moving her lips toward mine. I would be a very happy guy about this, but this was going way too fast for it to feel real. Also, she seemed a bit out of order with what she was doing. Before she could get any closer, I found my voice, and boy did I use it!

"STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!" I yelled as I pushed her back to a sitting position. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! This isn't like you at all!"

"GC… you don't want me to kiss you?" Miku asked, not harboring the seductive tone anymore (thank God) and she had a more concerned sound to her voice.

"No, not really." Yeah, you know that was a total lie. "It's just it feels like you were going too fast for me. I couldn't handle that. I'm sorry if that offends you."

"Well, you could've said something to me sooner, dude!" She suddenly perked up to the tone I know her to have most of the time.

"Wait, what?!" I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

"You know I was just messing with you, right?"

"I FRIGGIN' KNEW IT!" What a surprise. "Why do all girls feel the need to torment me?"

"What are you talking about, GC? I don't understand."

"Girls do stuff like this to me all the time. They flirt with me, make me feel like they like me, and then they leave me high and dry. Heartbreak and I ain't exactly strangers, see? It just always feels like girls never like me and they only live to see me in pain."

"GC… I had no idea…" She said with a bit more sympathy.

"I seriously thought you were better than that, Miku. Clearly you were one of the worst ones to do this to me. Why? Why did you want to do this to me? Does my pain make you happy?" I was in despair. The girl I was finally getting in good with, the one who I thought would be different just proved me wrong.

"You don't understand, I was just testing you!" She tried to explain.

"That's bullshit!"

"No, seriously! One thing I noticed with guys is that they always seem to only want a woman for her body. I just wanted to see if _you_ were different. I know my method wasn't exactly the best, but I wanted to know I could trust you."

"Miku, you didn't have to do all of that to know that you can trust me. Come to think of it, you probably shouldn't try that at all. I wanted to stop you at that popcorn thing."

"Heh, sorry about that… I don't even know what came over me with that. I'm sure it was as bad for you as it was for me."

"What now?"

"I just feel terrible about doing that to you. You're right, if we wanted to make anything work in a relationship, we can't force it, right?"

"Yeah." We then ended up talking the rest of the time, patching up what was almost broken. Seriously, I was incredibly worried Miku would never want to see me again after this. On the way home we talked a little bit more. "You know, something is still on my mind. If I didn't stop you, would you have kissed me?"

"I'm… not sure… I don't think so." She seemed unsure.

"It would've been awkward as all Hell, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right." We laughed a little bit at this. "Although I do think you are kind of cute when you blush like that."

"You… you do?" I was shocked at this.

"Yeah, it's adorable!" Somehow that brought the blushing right there. She spoke once more. "You do know that I'd never mean to hurt you, right?"

"I had a feeling you were one of those rare gems. You can trust me, too. We're there for each other, right? I'll always make sure you're alright, and that'll never change no matter what happens."

"R-really? You still want to be my friend after all I did?" Miku seemed surprised by this.

"Of course! No matter what will happen between us, you'll always be my best friend." I smiled.

"W-wow. Thank you, GC. You seriously consider me your-? What about Rick? Isn't he your best friend?"

"Rick is a special case. He ascended past the rank of best friend months ago. He's almost like my brother in a way. Thanks to that little promotion, the position of best friend is wide open, so to speak." Miku turned bright red. "After all that happened with us, I can say that we've grown together quite a bit, huh? After today, I can safely say that you've clenched that spot without question." It was finally my turn to initiate the hug. I began to feel much more comfortable with her in a way.

"You're my best friend, too…" She said to me softly while we were hugging. I assumed she meant her best friend around here because she has her friends back in Japan, but either way, it still made my heart jump. We released and then she went into her house, but not before looking back and waving goodbye, which I returned. I saw her lips move ever so slightly, but I wasn't entirely sure what she said. I ran back to my house and debated with myself whether I wanted to remember this day or not. The best parts of the day will sure stick with me, but the more awkward parts are probably going to stick around against my will.

The next week, however, was just about unforgettable in many ways, almost to the point of lifechanging.


	15. Chapter 15: The Wrath of Miku Hatsune

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 15**

A few days passed by after that rather embarrassing fiasco, but things finally settled back into normality. At school, Miku still wanted my help around the school, but I was starting to notice that she was beginning to memorize where certain places were in the school. Pretty soon, she won't need my help anymore, and she'll be walking to class on her own. Wow, I just felt so sad after saying that. I guess I was beginning to like helping her around the school. It made me feel important and that she needed me to be with her. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I truly liked Miku at that point. Without question, the mere mention of her name could've made my heart jump for joy. Seeing her face light up with her smile sent me skyrocketing. I could say more here, but I'm about to go off on a tangent. After what happened with me and Miku this past weekend, I wanted to sort of keep my feelings towards her on the down low. I didn't want to show weakness around her, as that would give her allowance to tease me more. The last thing I wanted was for her to take advantage of me anymore. I was talking to Rick about what happened, and in turn I told him about my feelings.

"God, that weekend was brutal!" I said after I told him the events.

"It sounds like it." Rick replied. "You always get so nervous around her when she teases you. Why do you put up with it?"

"Because…because I love it!" I admitted; my face flushing.

"Boy, you've got it bad, huh?"

"I do!" I became squeamish, and we eventually dropped the subject.

Since we had nothing to do today, we decided to do some sparring after school in the gymnasium, which they allowed since there was no practice today. The combatants for today's onslaught of sparring were me, Rick, Allen, and Miku, who had asked repeatedly to come and spar again. I thought it would be good since Allen never saw Miku fight (which is probably a good thing for me, since the only time I remember her fighting was when she destroyed me that one day.) and Miku never saw Allen fight either, so it would be a good show for everyone. Once everyone left, we began warming up to fight. The first round consisted of me against Allen. We were really tearing it up out there with powerful attacks and vicious blows that could send anyone flying. My opponent had me on the ropes, and was about to take the win, but I countered his charge with a powerful double kick to his gut, which made him double back and lose his breath. We stopped before we got too tired.

"Let's… call this one… a draw for now… Allen." I said as my breathing was heavy.

"Heh, yeah… you did pretty good, man." Allen replied, not feeling as tired as I was. He seemed ready to go another round. "Now, who should I fight next?" His eyes drifted towards Rick's direction, but Miku seemed eagerly excited to get into the action. I regained my composure (and my regular breathing pattern) and went up to him to make a suggestion.

"Why don't you try fighting Miku, Allen?" I asked him.

"GC, I'm not fighting a girl." Allen admitted.

"What? Are you scared that I'll win?" Miku cockily questioned.

"N-no, it's just that I don't want to hurt you. I think GC would kill me if I did." He smirked at me.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious." I rolled my eyes in sarcasm. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with. She can hold her own really well in a fight. I'm honestly not too concerned about her sparring with us since we do that whole 'palm fist' thing."

"Uh, I mean…"

"Come on, Allen! It'll be fun! Trust me, I'm tougher than you think." Miku jumped back into the conversation. She then walked out to the wider area of the gym and assumed her fighting stance. It looked pretty solid, to be honest. Perhaps she does martial arts as a workout?

"Well, alright then. Just know one thing, Miku. I won't be as forgiving as GC. I won't hold back as much!" Allen went up to the same spot where Miku was, took a few steps back, and assumed his stance.

"That's just what I was hoping for! Show me what you've got!"

"Alright, then let's see this thing go down!" I burst in to count off the fight. "3, 2, 1… FIGHT!" At once the two fighters lunged at each other with equal force. They swung at one another with fierce swipes and outrageous speed! They almost seemed evenly matched. Suddenly an upper hand was reached by Miku, who breached Allen's defenses and nailed him with a powerful kick to his stomach, which sent him flying backwards. Allen regained control of his movements before Miku could take advantage of his momentary daze. He leapt back into the fray and blasted his opponent with a flurry of rapid punches, hoping to overpower Miku and overwhelm her defenses. With the ferocity of these blows coming at her, I was impressed to see that Miku was standing her ground, but suddenly, her blockade was breached and was pelted with a barrage of open palm strikes, which knocked her off her feet for a brief moment.

"Please be careful, you two…" I said under my breath. I couldn't tell you how afraid I was for the two of them. Allen was up against a powerful opponent, but I was more worried that he would accidentally hurt Miku. I knew he would never intentionally hurt her, but I knew he also had a bad habit of flying off of the handle in battle. I mean I did too, but I was able to control myself better than he could. I only hoped I wouldn't be seeing his rage peak.

Back to the fight, they were still attacking at full force. It was almost impossible to keep up with the action with the blinding speed of the blows being exchanged. Suddenly, a booming sound echoed through the gym, and the combatants both flew backwards, relenting at the attack. Looking over at Miku, I saw her hand reach behind her leg, and thus releasing her choice weapon, her trusty leek, into the brawl. This was how I knew that it was about to get serious up in there, because she always unsheathed it when she was about to turn up the heat of her battle. Allen just stood up and was breathing harshly in fatigue and anger. Something was starting to ignite in his heart, and my greatest fear of this battle was being realized. I was honestly ready to call the fight there and prevent anything dangerous, but I couldn't make my voice work. I could only watch and pray for things to resolve.

The two fighters clashed once more, and you could feel the force of the impacts from where Rick and I were standing. Miku was parrying Allen's vicious attacks with incredible skill, but Allen wasn't letting up his onslaught upon her. One final attack sent them sliding backwards. I could see the focus in their eyes as they apparently prepared their final strikes. Miku took a stance like she was ready to charge head on at full speed and her leek was poised to strike as well, and Allen stood in a similar position while he clenched his fist to the point of his muscles twitching. I saw fire in Allen's eyes, and he seemed like he wasn't about to stop until he defeated his assailant. Suddenly, at the drop of a hat, they dashed at each other as quick as a flash, and an incredible crashing sound arose from the clash. Allen and Miku had both blocked each other's attack. Everything lay still for a moment, and suddenly a horrifying sound arose from the field of battle.

_SNAP!_

After a blow as forceful as that one, Miku's leek was unable to withstand the strain thrust upon it. This caused it to snap in two, with the top half landing on the floor with a thud. Each soul in that room at that very moment was petrified and all was silent. Miku looked upon her destroyed weapon and then dropped to her knees. She didn't begin crying, but she looked like she was about ready to explode in tears. Allen stood there in guilt and fear, Rick looked on in bewilderment, and I stood there in absolute terror, as I knew what was about to happen.

"Uh dude?" Rick looked at me and my terrorized expression. "Are you alri-?"

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" I cried as I dragged Rick out of the room by his arm. "Allen, get going!" I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't move. The two of us hid behind the windowed door of the gym as we waited for what was about to happen.

"GC, what is going on? Why are we out here?" Rick asked me like I had lost my mind.

"You don't understand, dude." I began to explain. "She loves that leek with a burning passion. I remember we were sparring a couple of days ago, and I left a tiny scratch on it, and she knocked me into next Tuesday!"

"And that was after a tiny scratch? Allen just snapped it in two… What's going to happen?"

"I'm scared to find out, but I know that it won't be pretty. If Allen's smart, he should get the hell out of there." Allen didn't move at all. In fact he went closer to her, possibly trying to console her.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Allen said. I was reading his lip movement so I could understand what he was saying. I knew Miku wasn't saying anything though. She was too overcome. "Look, I think I could fix it, or maybe I could buy you a new one to replace it?" Miku twitched after he said this. She was breathing heavily and I could sense hostility emanating from her. "I mean, it's just a stupid leek, right?" Oh, that wasn't the best thing to say, bro. Miku looked like she was ready to explode, and suddenly I could vaguely make her out saying this…

"How… dare you!" Her voice was the most threatening I've ever heard her sound. I was honestly kind of scared. "I'll make you PAAAAY!" Miku roared with a scream that I could feel piercing my soul! She suddenly stood and punched Allen square in the face with so much force that it could have blown his head clean off! Allen was sent careening to the bleachers and he crashed into them with such speed.

"What?!" Rick demanded.

"I told you! She cherishes that thing, and now she's out of control!" I rebutted. Miku rushed up to Allen at nearly the speed of sound and used the sharper point of her broken leek to thrust at Allen, and she was screaming in anger with each thrust. Allen dodged the first three, but was struck when he least expected it. He screamed in agony, and Miku used the new grip she had on him to throw him halfway across the gym floor. Before Allen could get up, Miku ran up to him again and kicked his face like she was attempting a 50 yard field goal. He was launched into the air, and Miku kicked him again, this time even harder and it sent him straight into the other set of bleachers. Allen was immobilized by the sheer force of this blow and could barely take another hit. Unfortunately, Miku's rampage was just beginning. She grabbed him by his throat and threw him down onto the ground. She jumped onto his chest and I saw blood sputter out of his mouth. After that, she pinned him down and repeatedly punched him in his face with enough energy to break his skull at any instant. I could sense Allen fading further and further away with each punch. Watching this was torture for me.

"I can't watch this anymore, Rick!" I finally had enough. "I'm going in!"

"Dude, what? You sure about this?" Rick asked me like he knew I lost my mind, and I think I did at that point.

"Not really, but I can't let this go on! I have to stop her from hurting Allen!"

"In that case, let me come in too! I can help you and we can stop her together. You know, as a team?"

"No Rick, I'm not letting you get hurt too! I'm going in there alone, and you're not stopping me!" I opened the door and dashed inside. Miku was still attacking Allen with no intention of letting up. Blood was spewing out of his nose and out of wounds that have opened up over the course of her attack.

"It's over now!" Miku said with her scary tone. "I'll send you to Hell RIGHT NOW!" She hoisted her arm, ready to attack once more. It would have been the blow that would've completely knocked Allen out, but she was out for blood.

"MIKUUUUUU! STOOOOOP!" I bellowed as I tackled her and pinned her to the ground to give Allen a free chance to escape. Miku struggled with so much ferocity that you would've expected me to be holding down a beastly lion. Allen stood up slowly as he regained enough strength in his body to move freely once again.

"Allen, get out of here, now!" I ordered. "I'll take care of her!"

"Keep her held down, dude." Allen said with a threatening tone. "I'll take care of her right now!"

"ALLEN! I swear on my god damn life, if you hurt one hair on her head, I will beat you so hard that the one you just got will seem like a damn paper cut, UNDERSTAND?!" He wasn't about to hurt Miku on my watch. No one was, even if she was in a state of maniacal rage at the moment. Allen backed off.

"…Alright, I see where you're going with this. Good luck, GC!" Allen pled.

"GO NOW!" I begged one last time, and he bolted to the door where Rick was standing.

"Let me go! He's getting away!" Miku struggled even harder to get away from me.

"NO MIKU, I can't let you hurt our friends, got it?" I rebutted forcefully.

"Let go of me NOW! I can't let him get away!" Miku growled. I knew she was far gone.

"NEVER! Stop this madness NOW!"

"NO! I CAN'T FORGIVE HIM FOR WHAT HE DID!" I was having a terribly hard time keeping her at bay.

"WELL I WON'T LET YOU BEAT HIM HALF TO DEATH!" She was almost breaking free.

"If that's how you want it, then I'LL END YOU TOO!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Miku, my best friend, was threatening my life? I knew right there that there was no reasoning with her. I couldn't move though, as I was petrified by her words. Suddenly I lost the struggle to keep her pinned. Miku broke free of my grip, and to get me off of her completely, she punched me directly in my jaw! I saw my memories with her flash before my eyes. I was scared, and I had the right to be. I mean, Miku punched me! The bright eyes I loved were fierce and vivid with rage. The lovely smile I came to adore was replaced with a vicious snarl. It was a Miku I never wanted to meet before. I stood up after getting knocked off of the enraged girl's body.

I never thought I'd see the day where I'd come face to face with the wrath of Miku Hatsune.


	16. Chapter 16: The Death of a Friendship?

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 16**

I had no words to describe my fear and inner destruction at that moment. Miku, the girl who I've learned holds an important place in my heart, ended up going insane with vengeful rage towards Allen, and once I got him out of the room, she turned her crosshairs onto me without any remorse. This became a nightmare that I wasn't going to be able to wake up from no matter how hard I tried. I was face to face with her, but I may as well have been staring down the barrels of a gun. I looked in her eyes, which glowed with rage through the shrunken pupils. Her breathing was heavy and coarse, and she stood tense and poised to strike. I don't know what made me want to reason with her once more.

"Miku, I don't want to fight you." I said with my voice trembling a little. "I can't, not like this!"

"Too bad!" Miku said with a harsh tone, thus further exemplifying her vibe of terror. "I WILL make him pay for what he did to my treasure, and I won't let anyone stand in my way. NOT EVEN YOU!" With those words, she lunged at me with the speed of a cheetah. Without a second to lose, I dodged her attack quickly, and more dodging followed as she continued to attack me with such ferocity, screaming in strain and anger throughout her onslaught. It was like she wasn't even the same person anymore, and I continued to avoid her attacks to the best of my ability.

Back in the hallway, Rick and Allen were watching the scene unfold after Allen collected himself completely. "Why did he want to fight her alone, Allen?" Rick asked him as they observed. "We could have easily taken her down together and ended this crazy shit!"

"I don't think GC wants to fight her at all." Allen responded. "He doesn't want to hurt her at all. Didn't you see the way he glared at me when I threatened her?"

"Yeah; I haven't seen that look on his face in a while. He had fire in his eyes."

"He obviously cares a lot about her."

"Of course, they've become great friends since they've met. It's really sad having to watch this happen." Try having to go through it. I was slowing down, and soon she caught up to me and nailed me suddenly with a vicious kick to my stomach. This stunned me, giving her the opportunity to kick me swiftly once again. This caused me to be sent back into the folded up bleachers, and before I could bounce off in recoil to regain my stance, Miku charged without hesitation and landed a punch near my kidney, her speed carrying over into the force of the punch. Without letting up, she blasted away at me with a barrage of kidney punches, ending with a forceful punch to my chest, nearly breaking my sternum. Without a chance to relent, she grabbed me and threw me backwards, slamming my face into the floor, and before letting me fall flat to the floor, I was harshly punted to the other side of the room. I laid there on the floor with a low amount of energy.

"This can't be happening to me…" I said to myself. "I don't believe this! She'd never actually want to hurt someone." Suddenly, it all became clear to me. "That's it! I know what I must do now." I stood up and extended my arms out wide, preparing to take every ounce of punishment my enraged friend would dish out on me and not even putting up a fight at all. _I know that you're in there somewhere, Miku._ I thought. _I place all my trust in you that you'll find your way out again._ This all happened quickly as Miku was preparing another assault. I clenched tightly and prepared for impact without protecting myself in the slightest. With a sharp elbow into my chest, I was sent into the bleachers behind me, and I was subject to a flurry of strikes that rained all over my body like a hurricane of painful torture. I wasn't about to let my plan down though. I was relying solely on my trust in Miku with this, and I stood my ground against this terrifying onslaught. She was screaming with anger and strain with each strike, and her eyes still glowed with the flames of vengeance, so the sight was not the easiest to endure, especially for my comrades.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Rick demanded an answer. "There's no way he's giving up now, is there?" Allen said nothing. "This is becoming painful to watch. If he doesn't fight back, she could kill him!" Allen once again stayed silent. "We can't just sit here and do nothing! We have to save him now!" Rick spoke with fear for me. This time Allen responded.

"Relax, dude. He knows what he's doing."

"He does? He just looks like he's standing there and letting her beat the crap out of him!" Rick wouldn't believe it.

"He knows that he can't and won't fight her. He refuses to hurt her. We know this. GC seems to really trust her, and he seems to be putting it to the test."

"The test? How can he be so sure that she'll stop attacking him?"

"He can't know. He just trusts her and is placing his life in her hands."

"He really trusts her?"

"Yeah, and it's obvious to me that he has feelings for her, so you can stop hiding it from me." Allen smirked.

"What? But I didn't- I mean he doesn't- huh, how do you know?" Rick finally asked after attempting to defend the secret.

"That burning amount of care and trust that he has in his heart towards Miku is what gave it away. I saw that glare he gave me, and I knew that he was a man fighting for the safety of his lady."

"Don't let him know you know, please. He'll kill me."

"I owe him that much for saving my life. Now we just have to wait to see if Miku will spare his…" During their aside, I was taking a severe amount of damage to every part of my body, and Miku wasn't slowing down for anything. Every time I thought I could stand up, she would charge at me at top speed and send me flying again. I took elbows to the chest, many punches to the face, and so many kicks that it amazes me that she can attack so much so quickly. Even though my situation looked dire, I wasn't afraid, because I knew that the true face of the one I adored would shine through this harsh exterior of bellowing rage. No matter what she did and how hard she fought, I still kept my arms stretched out wide and continued to take every bit of torment.

With her next attack upon me, she sent me into the bleachers with the force of a cannonball, and without any time to relent, Miku ran at me at the speed of sound with the sharp half of her broken leek held like a jousting lance, and before I knew it, she shoved the point right into my stomach and pierced the epidermis. I let out an ear-splitting cry of pain and agony when this happened, and without a second thought, Miku grabbed my head, slammed my face into the ground repeatedly, and forced me away by throwing me by my head down the way, and while I was still incapacitated, she sent me into the other bleachers once again at a blistering speed with an obscenely powerful horse kick.

Suddenly I felt the dust settle in the room. Miku had ceased fire for the moment, and I popped myself out of the minor crater my devastating impact left in the side. I landed on my face, and I coughed up some blood, but I stood up slowly and weakly put my arms in the same position. I could tell I looked like a train wreck, as I felt like I had bruises on my bruises, my bones were almost cracking, some cuts were opening up, and I was unable to stand with my knees straight, so I ended up standing like I needed a toilet. I looked at Miku, who was still ravaged with anger, but was apparently catching her breath. She was just looking at me as if I had lost my mind. I then heard her speak.

"Why aren't you fighting me?" Miku asked with a forceful, almost commanding tone. I said nothing to her and just stood still. "I'm clearly attacking you, and the least you could do is stop ignoring common sense and avoid it!" I said nothing. She ran up to me and began punching my face. "Stop ignoring me! Come on! Fight me!" I was unmoved. "Come on already! Fight back! Fight me! Hit me! Do something!" I did not obey. As she spoke, I noticed her punches were heading lower on my body, and even felt like they were becoming slightly weaker. "Seriously, fight me! Attack me! You're a better fighter than that! STOP IT!" Miku was becoming more upset rather than angry. I could sense it in her voice. I still remained in my position, feeling more dead than alive. "I'm not kidding! Freakin' fight me already! Please! I'm begging you!" Her punches began to feel even weaker than earlier and she even began to cry a little. Even though I can't stand hearing her cry, I stood my ground and kept taking the weakening blows. "FIGHT ME! HIT ME! STOP ME! QUIT LETTING ME HURT YOU!" With these words she broke out in tears, she fell to her knees, and was leaning against me and was still trying to punch me, but it was slower, weaker, and was with the side of her fist. "Please… I don't want to hurt you. Please stop me so I don't have to hurt you more…" I lowered my arms, but still said nothing. With one final swing at me, however, I finally moved and took her hand to stop her from "attacking" me. I looked down at her and finally spoke to her.

"Why would I ever want to hurt someone who's already in pain?" was what came out of my mouth. Miku looked up at me and she seemed to be fighting to hold back her tears.

"W-what are you talking about?" She asked.

"There are two kinds of pain in this life: physical pain and pain in your soul, and I could see that your soul was crying out for help."

"Huh? I… I don't understand."

"The way you were screaming and viciously attacking was proof enough for me. You showed me just how much you were hurting. I couldn't let myself see you in pain like this."

"B-but why did you let me beat you half to death? I was obviously hurting you." I knelt down and looked at her dead in her eyes with a smile.

"Miku, I couldn't handle seeing you like that. It broke my heart like nothing else."

"But..."

"Any amount of physical pain that a body can endure could never hope to compare to the pain and torment of a broken heart crying for help. This is also why I couldn't fight you, Miku. I wasn't going to hurt you when you were already in excruciating pain in your heart. What kind of person would that make me? I may as well be kicking you while you're down, and that just isn't fair to you."

"GC… but why did you just keep letting me hurt you? I still don't understand. I could've killed you if I didn't stop!" Miku looked at me with such concern and disbelief.

"I knew you would stop though, Miku. I knew that the real you, the girl I call my best friend, was in there somewhere. I had the utmost confidence in you. Sure enough, you broke free of that rage."

"I… I don't know how this came over me. I mean, I was so angry because my leek broke. I seriously overreacted for no reason. I feel like such a fool for that." Miku continued fighting the tears.

"I heard you say it was your treasure. I think you told me something about it a while ago. Wasn't it something like a memoir of an old friend or something?"

"Y-yeah, but…"

"He gave it to you because it was indestructible like your friendship was, right?"

"Th-that's right. The fact that it broke just made me feel like I failed him as a friend, and I feel like the worst person in the world today. I broke my old friend's special gift to me and I almost beat my best friend to death. How can anyone still call me their friend when I-"

"MIKU, JUST STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! PLEASE!" I yelled. I could handle her beating me up, but I couldn't stand to hear her beat herself up. "You know that isn't true. I'm not only proud to call you my friend, but I'm honored. Trust me, I tend to overreact to stuff too, so I understand what you're going through here, I think. I can't let you talk about yourself like that. It's only making my heart break even more!" I could almost feel tears welling up. "Please Miku, just stop saying that. It isn't true at all, and I'm sure that the guy who gave you the leek would say the same thing!" Miku gasped quickly. I think I finally hit a nerve.

"But… I don't like when I get angry, GC. I lose control of myself and I always hurt the people I love and care about. It… it really scares me."

"I know how that feels, Miku." I attempted consolation. "I used to lose control of my rage too, and someone always ended up getting hurt. It scared me to no end, but I was soon able to get a handle on my dark side, so to speak." This was actually a literal statement. I then placed my hand on her shoulder and motioned her head to look up at me. "I'll always be here for you. You know this, of course. We can get through all of this together."

"Really…?" Miku seemed like she was losing her battle against her tears.

"I promise." I then took notice of her eyes welling with tears and her lip quivering. "Miku, please don't hold back your sadness anymore. If you feel like crying, then just let it all out. I'll be right here to comfort you and hold you if you need it. You know that I have a comfortable shoulder, right? Besides, even though wounds on the body will heal on their own, I believe it takes two people to mend a broken heart. Please Miku, there's no need to hold it back anymore. Let your pain out and let yourself cry." I looked deep into her eyes and smiled at her.

"GC…" She then put her arms around me and hugged me rather tightly, which I followed up by doing the same to her. She buried her face into my shoulder as she wept. After a minute or so, I tried rubbing her back and speaking softly to her to get her to relax whilst fighting my own urge to cry along with her. I'm not sure why I felt the need to, but my throat had a lump in it and my eyes were indeed watering. I hugged her tighter and shut my eyes, which let one or two tears slip out.

After about five minutes or so, Miku found her voice enough to speak, but she was still in mid-cry so the words seemed difficult to force out. "Please… forgive me! I didn't mean to do any of that!"

"I know, Miku. It's alright." I whispered. "I forgive you." We stayed this way for a few more minutes, and finally she stopped her crying. We stood up and made our way out of the gym. I was a little wobbly as even though I was mended in my heart, I was still in pain from the past onslaught. I knew Miku was back to normal, and I was glad to know she was. She apologized to Allen, who forgave and forgot, and we left the school to finish our day.

It was great to have my friend back once again, but my feelings about her didn't diminish; they may have even increased.


	17. Chapter 17: Feelings are Discovered

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 17**

A day or so passed and soon I found myself awaiting the end of a Thursday at school. We had a band practice scheduled for that day, so I was prepared for the afternoon of music that was waiting for me. The guys weren't talking about rehearsal too much at school, but since we became more used to having a band, conversation about it became rather lacking, so I thought nothing about it. Miku seemed pretty excited for it, but she also seemed rather beside herself. I guess she was still rattled from the other day. Since I saw the leek almost sticking out of her boot's secret compartment, I assumed it grew back in a flash. Indestructible and revives itself quickly; this leek seems to be a beautiful symbol of friendship. Strange thing to think of, but it seriously works if you think about it.

Anyway, after school let out, I found that Rick wasn't on the bus that day. It wasn't too bad for me, but the bus ride felt very lonely. No one else ever seems to want to sit with me on the bus ride over. This kind of made me wish that we could've talked the bus driver into letting Miku ride on our bus again. If I knew Rick wasn't going to be on, it would've been nice to have Miku there to keep me company. I used to ride alone before Rick came along, and I used to listen to music, so I decided to make lemonade out of the lemons that life gave me and adopt my old habit once more. Take a guess what I listened to.

Once the bus let me go, I made my way down the path to the shack. Miku, like clockwork, was awaiting my arrival. Actually, she was expecting Rick to be with me, as he's usually with me.

"Where's Rick?" Miku asked me as we began walking. "Isn't he usually with you?" See what I mean?

"You've got me there, actually." I replied. "He wasn't on the bus either." I wonder if he went home early. Ever since he took over the throne of Lineria, he's been called out to help in emergencies that his mother, the queen known as Passius, could not handle without the king's final word. They haven't happened in a while, so I imagine that things have been peaceful on Lineria for a while. I honestly wasn't entirely sure about it. The two of us arrived at the band's hideout within a few minutes, and to our surprise, Allen and Levi also had not made it yet.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I uttered. "Where the hell are these bums?!"

"Yeah, I know! Don't they drive here?" Miku asked.

"You're right. They're both late for practice!"

"Do you think they hit traffic or something?"

"Miku, we live in the middle of nowhere. Why on Earth would there be traffic around here?"

"Alright already, don't act so snippy about it!" Miku scolded.

"Sorry, I'm just a little pissed off at these guys. I didn't mean to snap." After she said she forgave me, I felt my pocket buzz. I reached down to pick up my phone and found a text message from Allen. "Oh, for crying out loud!" I shouted. "Allen just texted me saying he has other stuff to do, and that we should reschedule!"

"Huh?" She asked in response as my phone vibrated in another text. In fact two rang in at the same time.

"Oh, come on! Levi has a doctor's appointment he 'forgot' about and Rick has…uh other things to work on?" I was correct in my assumption that Rick had something to do on Lineria, but I wasn't about to let Miku know yet. She doesn't know about the whole "alien prince turned king" thing yet with Rick. She knows he's an alien, but that's all he let on so far. I guess we all have our secrets.

"Alright, cut it out, GC." Miku said rather accusingly. "Was this whole thing some kind of way to get us alone together or something?"

"What? Do you honestly think I would do something like this?!" I felt rather shocked at this accusation. "You know that I'd never do anything this stupid."

"Well that's true, but it does seem rather… coincidental, wouldn't you say?"

"Indeed it is, but I swear I knew nothing about this! Besides, they never listen to me anyway. They'd never do this if I told them to."

"Hmm, well alright. So now what? Is practice cancelled?"

"I guess it is, but who says we can't play a song with just the two of us?" I suggested.

"A-are you sure about that, GC?" Miku asked, seeming rather shocked. "I don't think it would be fair for the others if we practice without them here, you know?"

"I… guess you're right." I felt kind of down about that. I really wanted to do a song with just me and her together.

"Well then, maybe we should just head home if we have nothing to do." Miku was about to turn and wave goodbye for the night. Suddenly an idea sprang to mind.

"HOLD IT!" I shouted, stopping Miku dead in her tracks. "Who says there's nothing to do here? We've got tons of room in this space! We can run around like fools and maybe play some games like tag or whatever, and just play around and have fun! Something tells me a little running around would be right up your alley."

"Uh, well…" Miku seemed unsure.

"Look, I thought it would be fun to just pal around and play like friends, you know? It kind of feels like it could make up for the past couple of days between us."

"W-what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Miku. That Saturday that I shall never bring up ever again and that Tuesday at the school gym. I want to make up for all of that stuff." I looked her dead in the eye to show that I was serious.

"What are you talking about? All of that stuff was my fault." She almost seemed to shudder at these memories. "If anything I should be trying to make it up to you after all that I did to you."

"Okay fine." I crossed my arms and smiled at her. "Then this is to show that I forgive you for all of that!" I saw Miku's eyes widen a smidge when I said this. "What do you say, Miku?"

"Well… okay then! Sounds like fun!" Her eyes regained that sort of glow that I've come to admire.

"Okay." I reached out and touched her shoulder briefly. "You're it!" After I said that, I ran away as fast as I could. I soon heard her begin to give chase. The game went on for a while, and soon we ended up doing all kinds of stuff, like running races and kicking around a soccer ball. Eventually, Miku even succumbed to us playing some music with me and she even gave me a quick dance lesson. Hey, if I ever want to put on a good show for the audience, then I think it would benefit me to learn a few steps so I'm not just standing there with a microphone in my hand like an idiot. I did, however, take a few liberties with the steps to make them feel a bit more masculine, as I did feel that some of Miku's moves don't translate very well into a male dancer. I can't tell you how much fun we were having. Miku had the biggest mile on her face the whole time, even when I was screwing up the dancing. As for me, well I was just glad to know that she was happy.

After a second round of tag, Miku and I took a short breather. "So what do you want to do now, Miku?" I asked her after I caught my breath.

"I don't know…uh" Suddenly she looked up and saw the sun setting a bit. "Oh man, is it that late?"

"I suppose so. We've been here for a while now."

"Oh shoot! I still have to do my homework!" Miku ran into the shack and sat down at the table. She took her books out and tried frantically to look for the correct notes for her to use for the assignment. I don't know if I ever saw her this flustered. Clearly she isn't the studious type, even though she seems rather smart. "Oh man, what do I do? How do I do this? I have no idea what I'm doing!" She said out loud as she looked over her problems. I decided it was time to step in.

"Here, let me have a look at what you've got." I offered as I sat down next to her to see the paper. The assignment was a good old sheet of math problems that seemed like they were rather tricky, but it was something I remember how to do. I guess she's in a lower level of math than I am. "Oh this doesn't seem _that_ hard. I think I can help you out with this."

"R-really? You'd…you'd help me with this?"

"Of course, Miku." I winked at her, showing she was in good hands. I handed her a notebook. "Here, I'll go through the problem and you write down the steps as we go, okay?"

"O-okay." I began to go through the problem with her. I assume you guys don't want to hear me prattle on about mathematics for the next paragraph or so, so I think I should get some omniscience going here, because I think Miku's thoughts could be way more interesting than whatever else was going on there.

_Wow, GC's being so nice lately._ She thought. _It's like I'm seeing him in a different way now. I feel strange for some reason. My heart is beating faster, I'm blushing, and even though I'm trying to look away from him, I just can't. What is going on? Am I…?_

"Hey, are you even listening?" I said suddenly.

"H-huh? What?" Miku came back to Earth.

"Well even though it seems like I have your utmost attention, I think I told you to write this stuff down." I said with a smirk.

"O-oh, uh, sorry." Miku's face turned red as she looked down at her notebook to catch up. After a few seconds I began to speak.

"Well, I mean I'm sort of used to getting some kind of look like that." I said, unaware of Miku's feelings.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked me with nervous intent.

"Girls always seem to give me that stare that just screams 'Dear God, what a pathetic creep.' I know I'm not exactly the most normal guy in the world, but they could seem less blunt about it."

"But you aren't creepy at all, I swear."

"Yeah, well they always think I'm a huge weirdo without any grip on reality."

"GC, I'm a singing android from Japan with long turquoise pigtails, a necktie and thigh-high boots that I always wear, and a love of leeks. If anything, I'm the weird one here." Miku consoled me. I laughed a little.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't worry too much about it, Miku. I know people judge others before they really get to know them, and that's never the way to meet new people and make friends, right? I learned that if people judge me poorly without knowing me, then they probably aren't worth knowing at all. If they need to make me feel bad to make themselves feel better, then why even give them the satisfaction? I know who I am and I won't allow anyone to tell me otherwise. I don't pride myself on my worth to others, as that bears no true value in life. As for my own self worth, well that's something I'll have to decide for myself someday." I turned to look at Miku. She seemed flushed.

_Wow, there he goes with that way with words again._ Miku thought. _Seriously, how can he sound so poetic? It's making my heart race. He just seemed so… confident in himself and knew just what to say. I never noticed how… cool he seems. _

"Hey, I guess it does seem kind of warm in here, doesn't it? Lemme just take my over shirt off real quick." I slipped out of my grey button-down shirt. Somehow that didn't help with the heat.

_Oh wow. Since when did he become so handsome? _She thought. _I mean I thought he seemed kind of cute, but wow. Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I just can't look away from him. I don't think my heart has ever beaten this fast before. It's almost overwhelming. I… I think I…_

"How about I get us something to drink, huh? We have some water in the fridge over there." I offered. Miku just seemed to be in her own world, but at the same time, her eyes were fixated on me, for some reason. I was never good at reading faces without emotion in them. I grabbed the water and placed Miku's bottle next to her, since she just seemed stunned. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked her and she snapped out of her stupor.

"U-uh, y-yeah. I'm fine." Miku shook off her trance and gave me a rather uncomfortable looking smile. I guess she was unsure of her status. Suddenly something popped back in my mind.

"Oh yeah, by the way, even though you might think you're the weird one, don't think that it'll make me leave you, okay?" I said, and Miku twitched a bit. "I really care about you, and if anybody said anything about you, I'd never believe anything, because I know you, the real you, and I feel honored to be able to say that. These past few weeks have been the best of my life in all honesty, and that's just because I met you, Miku." Miku's face probably couldn't have looked redder. "You came into my life by chance, but we became friends almost instantly. I can't tell you how great it feels to know that I'm your friend; your best friend even. I remember you said that last weekend. I just can't keep myself from this anymore." I looked straight into her eyes, which were almost sparkling in the light of the sunset, and I placed my hand upon hers. "I want to thank you for being one of the best friends I've had in ages, but I don't know just how yet…"

_He…cares about me?_ Miku went on in her mind._ He feels honored to know me? Why is my heart going even faster? I can hardly breathe, and I can't think of anything to say. My mind is completely blank! What is making this happen? Is this really what I think it is? Do I really see something in him I never saw before? That look in his eyes just seems so sure and serious. I just can't look away from those eyes of his… I don't even want to move my hand from under his; it's so warm and strong… I… I can't deny it anymore. I really like him, and I…I…just… _I could see Miku moving closer to me.

"And remember this, Miku." I began once again. "You should never doubt anything I said to you about you or us. I mean every single word and say it from the bottom of my heart." Miku continued to inch closer to me on the bench, almost to the point of being in contact with my body. My heart was speeding up, but I felt confident in my words. I took her hands in mine, looked at her straight in the eye, and uttered one final phrase.

"Thank you, Miku Hatsune, for everything." And with those words, Miku's breathing almost sped up to hyperventilation, her face was redder than a beet, and she was trembling like a dead tree in a windstorm; when suddenly her eyes faded, her legs gave out, and she fainted right in front of me.

"MIKU!" I shouted in fear. My first instinct was to shout for help, but there was no one around for miles, so I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands. I scooped her up and carried her back to her house, and nothing was to stop me on my way there. Did I really hit a nerve with what I said? I was too worried about my friend's safety to really contemplate anything further. I prayed to God that Miku would pull through from this.

It would crush me if she didn't.


	18. Chapter 18: The Fight for My Friend

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 18**

"Miku, please wake up!"

"Please, you gotta get up!"

"Miku, I'm sorry! Don't do this to me! MIKU!"

I was doing anything I could think of to awaken her from her state of unconsciousness, but it was all to no avail. Each time I failed to wake her up, I felt tears well up in my eyes more and more. I can't tell you how afraid I was for her. I was petrified seeing her like this. It wasn't a very common way to faint either. Her eyes were shut and she was limp and immobile, but her breathing pattern was erratic, ranging from near hyperventilation to slow and almost weak. Her heart was also beating incredibly fast, almost akin to a guy finishing a five mile marathon, and as I was trying to shake her awake, I noticed that her skin was incredibly warm to the touch, especially around the face, as if she had a fever or something. I was seriously worried that it wasn't going to come to that, which just made me try harder.

"Come on Miku, please! Snap out of it!" I shouted. Nothing happened. I shook her gently by her shoulders. "Miku! MIKU! COME ON, PLEASE! WAKE UP!" Miku wasn't moved. "OPEN YOUR EYES! STAND UP! STAY WITH ME!" Not a reaction was in sight. "MIKU! MI-KU! I'M SORRY!" I nearly broke out crying. "This is all my fault, I know it. I need you to get up, Miku. I need to know you're okay. I… I just…" I felt a tear slip out of my eye. I knew that I couldn't do anything to awaken her. I had to do something though. I tried calling for help, but there was no one around for miles, as stated before. I just had to think of something to do for her to get her help, and I suddenly thought of the only thing that made sense.

"I have to get you home, Miku. I'll make sure you're cared for." I lowered my arms and picked her up. I then made my way out of the shack and walked down the road to her house, Miku held close in my arms. It felt rather awkward in a way, as she was completely limp and almost impossible to hold on to in the style I was holding her in. I was gently carrying her as if she were a newborn baby. Hey, even though she fainted I wasn't about to make her uncomfortable; holding her over my shoulder was out as well since I'm not a Neanderthal. Throughout my journey I was attempting to speak to her.

"Miku, hold on. I'm here for you." I wasn't sure if I was being heard, but I wasn't about to give up on her. "We're almost to your house. I promise I'll get you help." I kept walking, but my muscles were beginning to weaken and Miku began to feel rather heavy. I began to sweat and my breathing became heavier. To put it simply, I was getting tired, but I wasn't giving up on my best friend. Not on the woman I adore at all. I was ready to go any distance to make sure Miku was safe and happy. I could almost swear I heard a mild, weak mumble away from my ear.

"G…C…" I don't think that's quite what she said, but I was too focused on taking her home. I could also feel her get a bit warmer, so I knew I had to get moving to her house, otherwise it would've gotten ugly. I just kept going and kept my eyes on the prize. I was surprised that Miku's house felt so far away this time around. It usually takes about five minutes or so on foot, but it felt like it was almost an entire country away. Perhaps it was the fact that I was fatigued and my pace was slowed compared to the normal walking speed that I usually have with Miku walking by my side instead of in my arms.

It took much longer than usual, but I finally turned the corner on the way down, and my final destination was within reach at last! I trudged up to the porch and pondered on how I was going to signal the person confined within the walls. I wanted to do it the civil way and ring the doorbell, but I had no clear way of doing that without having to put Miku down on the ground; the porch had no seats at all, so there wasn't a safe spot to place her.

"Ah, screw it!" I said to myself as I decided on the direct and loud approach of knocking on the door. In fact I wasn't really knocking, but rather, I was kicking it lightly. I had to get attention somehow, and that was honestly my best bet. I turned my attention to Miku for a few seconds. "It's okay, Miku… We're here now… Everything's going to be alright…" I said through my heavy breathing. I then heard footsteps approach the door.

"Oh hi, wh- OH MY GOD!" A woman more or less the same age as my mother answered my signal with shock and terror at the sight that had befallen her. Seeing that the girl she took in for the foreign exchange deal was out cold and the young man carrying her was weak in the knees, sweating profusely, and panting heavily, this response was pretty much imminent.

"P-Please… help her…" I said weakly through my breathing. She allowed me inside and had me place Miku on the sofa in the living room.

"Is she okay?" The host mother asked me as I took a better look at Miku's condition. Since I started my trek, her breathing regulated to a normal pace, her body heat returned to normal, and her heartbeat stabilized.

"Phew, thankfully she's okay. I think at this point she's just asleep." I can't tell you how relieved I felt to know she would pull through this. I wasn't sure how long this would take, mind you, but just knowing that she was okay was enough to calm myself. After a few minutes, the mistress of the house began to ask questions.

"So what happened to her?" She asked.

"Well uh…" How was I going to explain this without making it seem like I did something to her? I eventually worked it out to the most believable form I could muster, and that somehow satisfied her.

"She just fainted for no reason? Are you sure about that?" Or maybe not.

"Well, I mean I think I may have said something to get her heart racing or whatever. Maybe it was also the fact that she was stressing out about her homework." I defended my case.

"Who are you anyway?" The host mom asked.

"I'm Peyton, but my friends all call me GC." I introduced myself.

"Oh, so you're THE GC, huh?" The woman suddenly gave me an interesting look.

"I've been called a lot of things, ma'am, but 'the' was never one of them…" I was shocked at what she told me. "The GC"? What is she talking about?

"Why yes, I've heard so much about you, you know."

"You… have? How?" She knew who I was _and_ she's heard about me?

"How else? Miku told me a lot about you two." I was nervous about what I was about to ask of her next.

"Uh, what does she say about me?" I was scared and excited at the same time.

"Ugh, what doesn't she say about you? You're almost all she talks about if it isn't about music!"

"R-really? She talks about me a lot?" I felt sheepish.

"Ever since you helped her out that first day, she's just been going on and on about you and what you do for her and how happy she is knowing you." The woman seemed annoyed and proud at the same time, and that was an odd combination of emotions. "She just never shuts up about you, and somehow you end up coming into random conversations that had nothing to do with you." Sounds like a bad habit of mine. "She must think about you a lot."

"Well, I, uh…" My face was burning once again. God damn it, I thought I gained control.

"Between you and me, I think she has a little crush on you." I nearly blasted out of my seat with the shock of this statement.

"N-no way, that can't be! I don't believe that for a second!" My heart was pounding.

"Why not? She only says great things about you, and if we ever say anything bad, she always says something to stop it like: 'Oh no, that's not like GC at all,' or 'Stop it, he's better than that,' or my personal favorite: 'Stop talking about him like that! He's the best!' Call me crazy, but that sounds like a girl with a crush to me." When the host mom said this, my heart pounding went into double time.

"Um…" I could find no words to describe my feelings at that moment. I doubted her whole-heartedly, but I couldn't help but feel like I was about to blow a fuse. I just couldn't help but look at Miku with a dumbfounded expression. This couldn't be true at all. How could someone like her; an ultra-popular singing celebrity from Japan, possibly have feelings like that towards me, an ordinary teenager with nothing remarkable about himself (that she knows about)?

"I can tell be the look on your face and by what you did to get her here that you like her a lot." I twitched. This woman was very perceptive. I was afraid that she could read my mind almost. "Well, am I right? I am, aren't I? The way you reacted to that question just says it all."

"I… I do!" Ironically, I was glad that Miku was unconscious at the moment. "It's true, I really like her. Please don't tell her, though. If anything, I want her to know when the time is right." I looked over at Miku once again, and I could've sworn I saw her with a tiny smile on her face for a split second. Perhaps she was dreaming of something, like a great concert she did or an endless supply of leeks or whatever. Hey, it's tough to tell sometimes, and I seriously doubt that she heard us.

"Hee hee, my lips are sealed. I'm sure Miku will be fine in a while." Miku's host mom stated.

"I can hang out a few minutes. I want to keep an eye on her."

"Really?"

"Yes ma'am. I want to be by her side a little longer. I wanna make sure she's okay for now."

"Okay then. You really care about her, don't you?"

"I swore I'd always be there for her no matter what. I refuse to break that promise today, or ever." I said, and she allowed me a few minutes to sit with her. I stayed right there and held her hand gently while lightly stroking her palm with my thumb. I said nothing during this time, as I didn't want to disturb her, to be safe. After a while, I noticed the sun was beginning to set.

"I should probably get moving. I'm certain that Miku's in good hands right now."

"Of course." The host mom said.

"Would you mind having her text me when she wakes up?" I asked. "I'd like to know when she's up, you know?"

"You got it, GC. You go on home, and I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate this." I stated, and then I looked down at Miku and put my hand on her shoulder one last time. "I'll see you later, Miku. I hope you feel better soon." I could have easily planted a little kiss on her cheek before I left, but that felt like cheating in a way. I just stood and went back to my house, not being able to get my friend out of my mind. Naturally, that wasn't the only thing on my mind. What Miku's host mom said to me continued to ring inside my head.

_Between you and me, I think she has a little crush on you._

"Pfft, yeah right!" I said to myself as I shook off the thought. After a while, the day went on like nothing really happened, minus the fact that I knew what happened that day and that I was glued to my cell phone more than usual, as I was awaiting Miku's text telling me she was alright. It wasn't until about 8:45 that night that my phone started ringing, but not for a text. I answered and was met with a semiconscious voice.

"Hey, GC." It was her. She woke up! I don't think I've ever been happier to hear her say those words.

"MIKU! You're okay! Thank God!" I couldn't hold my excitement back from her.

"Of course I am, GC. You didn't have to worry too much." Miku giggled a little bit. Even after waking up from a mini coma, she still melts your heart with that sweet laugh. "You wanted me to text you to let you know I was okay?" She asked with a little more energy in her voice.

"Yes Miku, of course I'd want to know if you were okay." I replied. "What kind of friend would that make me if I didn't?"

"Well, uh…" Miku sounded flustered, so I decided to fall back a little.

"You know I care about you, and I promised to always be there for you, right?"

"Thank you, GC. Seriously, I could just give you a big hug right now." She was starting to really come around.

"Don't waste your time. If I was there with you, I'd be hugging you right after you woke up." We laughed for a while, and then we said our goodbyes for the night. I was so glad to know that Miku was better and that she'd be in school tomorrow.

The following weekend was one that I never would've expected, and even if I did, I still wouldn't believe it. This was to be a weekend that would change almost everything between me and Miku forever.

It all started with a conversation at school the next morning.


	19. Chapter 19: Deal With the Date (Pt 1)

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 19**

Even though Rick hadn't returned the next morning, I didn't really notice because I was just ready to see Miku again after last night. Seeing her out of her miniature coma would finally put these awful nightmares that I've been having. I ran to my locker to collect my stuff as quick as a flash. The sooner I got to go downstairs to see her, the sooner I could breathe easier. However, once I made it up the stairs, I found that I would not have to wait to see her at all, but rather she was the one who was waiting for me at the top.

"Hey GC, I'm… sorry about yesterday." Miku said with a mildly guilty tone. I couldn't say anything. I was just too overcome with happiness and relief to make my voice work at all. The only thing that I could get myself to do was go up to her and hug her tightly. I was just glad to see her and to know that she was okay. She sounded shocked at my rash action, but eventually hugged me back.

"Thank God you're alright, Miku." I finally managed to say. "I was so worried about you." We ended our hug, but Miku still seemed rather shell-shocked. Was it because of the hug or because I was worried about her?

"O-of course I'm okay, GC." She stammered. "We talked last night, remember?"

"Yeah, but I needed to see you for myself, you know?"

"You worry too much, silly." Once I saw her smile, I knew she was 100 percent back to normal. "I do kind of want to make up for what happened, though."

"H-hey, you don't have to do that, Miku. You make up for it just by being here and letting me know you're okay."

"But I seriously want to do something. I want to go to the mall with you tomorrow, just like the first time we were together outside of school."

"Wait, _you're_ asking _me_ to hang out this weekend?" My heart jumped. "Heh, now who's the one being silly?"

"What do you say, GC? Do you want to go?" Miku seemed so serious. Something tells me she just wanted a normal time where we could just be together, like the first time. Nothing went wrong on that day.

"Th-that sounds great! I'd love to!" I beamed.

"Great! It's a date!" Miku responded as she walked to the staircase behind me.

"Awes… Wait, WHAT?!" I never felt like my jaw hit the ground harder than there.

"You heard me." She turned to me and smiled. "See you later." She winked and then walked down the stairs. I was about ready to scream like a banshee to this. Was she serious? Did she really ask me on a date? She really called it one?

Well, the rest of the day was no picnic, so allow me to jump ahead to the day in question. I barely ate that day, but I managed to make it to the time we agreed on. I walked down to her house and kept fiddling with my hair. I wanted to make sure it looked okay this time. Once I made it to her street, I was surprised to see that she wasn't walking down to meet me like she usually was. I went up to her house and knocked on her door, and the one who opened the door was our old friend, the host mom.

"Um, isn't there supposed to be a pretty, blue haired girl living here too?" I couldn't help but ask.

"She actually wanted me to tell you to meet her at… uh… that place with the river she always goes to…" She answered. Outlook Peak! I thanked the hostess and made my way to my old hangout. Sure enough, once I passed through the woods surrounding it, I arrived and saw my friend awaiting my arrival. I greeted her, and she turned to face me.

"I've been waiting for you, GC. Glad you could make it." Miku said to me. She looked a little different than she usually did that day, and I liked it.

"W-wow, you look… amazing." That was smooth, GC; about as smooth as sandpaper underpants. She just giggled and looked me in the eye.

"Thank you, you're such a sweetie." She said with a mild blush. "I just thought I'd try a little make up on today. I'm glad you like it."

"Uh…" I wasn't able to make words come out to respond. "C-come on, let's go" was the only thing that came out. We began walking and all of a sudden, a sweet aroma reached my nose. "Oh, hello. Do I smell perfume?"

"Yeah, it's just something I wanted to try on today. It's nice, isn't it?" Miku smiled. Even though I had to agree that it was a lovely scent, my trust issues took over.

"Alright, knock it off!" I demanded. "What are you trying to pull?"

"Nothing, I swear. I just wanted to try to look nice for our date." Miku responded.

"Holy shit, you were serious about that." My eyes were wide.

"Of course I was. Why would I lie about something like that?" Miku looked concerned.

"I don't know, but then again, why WOULDN'T you do that?"

"Because you're one of the nicest guys I've ever met. You're just a total sweetheart. You don't deserve that kind of treatment, you know?" I couldn't help but blush after she said that. I think it was the way she said it that made it feel even better: sweetly, sincerely, and adorably.

"Uh… o-o-okay…" I shook it off. "Alright let's get moving already." And we were on our way. During our walk, something came to my mind. I couldn't take it anymore. I was ready to make my move soon, but I didn't know how to make it happen. It had to be something huge! Something that showed her how much I care about her; how much I like her; and how much I want to be with her. I was ready to do anything to get her, but I just wasn't sure what to do just yet.

We arrived, and it was more or less like the first time we went. We went and we walked around, talked pretty much the whole time, did a little shopping here and there, and all in all, we just had such a great time. Miku and I were walking a little closer to each other than we have been. It took me a while to notice this, but once I did, I felt nervous and happy at the same time. Did Miku notice? I'm not sure to be honest. She didn't react at all, even when her hand brushed against mine. Then again, I didn't react that heavily either.

All was well and normal until we passed the jewelry store and I saw something that seemed so trivial the last time we went to the mall. It was a charm necklace that I remembered Miku absolutely adoring last time, and this time it was a lower price than last time. Even though I was saving money for it, I was still glad to see it cheaper than the last time I saw it. I remember how much she loved it, and then I thought of something that could change everything.

_I think I know just what to do now._ I thought. _I can even surprise her with it, since she didn't see it. I gotta do this now. Who knows how long it'll be there and on sale like that? Now all I have to do is find a chance to separate us for a bit so I can do this without her knowing._ Suddenly, a noise rang out from an unknown source, but was soon discovered to be the sound of a stomach growling. It wasn't mine though.

"Miku, was that your stomach?" I asked her, and she laughed with some embarrassment.

"Yeah, it was." Miku sheepishly admitted. "I haven't eaten for a while, since I was so nervous about today."

"Wait, how long is a while?"

"Did you notice that I didn't eat much of my lunch? It all went downhill from there."

"Good Lord, you're starving!" Suddenly I had a thought that would work in my favor. _Hey, I think this is just what I needed. Time to sell this!_ "Well then, I guess it's time for lunch, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." Miku laughed.

"I'll tell you what, it's my treat, okay? I'll pay for both of our lunches."

"GC, you don't have to do that. I'm the one who asked you to go with me, right?"

"I insist. I just need to run a quick errand, and then we can eat." I lightly hinted.

"Uh, okay." Miku seemed reluctant about this.

"Why don't you find us a table, and you can decide what you want to eat. I promise I'll be back soon." I swore my return, but she still didn't seem like she was quite okay with me going. Perhaps she was worried about me not coming back, so I decided to place some collateral. "Here, why don't you keep an eye on my shirt here?" I took off my over-shirt and handed it to her. "Think of this as insurance that I'll come back. It's my favorite shirt, so I'll definitely come back for it. I mean, I'll come back for you, of course, but this is so you can trust me to come back." I smiled at her.

"O-okay. Hurry back, okay?" Miku pleaded. I agreed and then I went off to the jewelry store containing the necklace. First I made sure to go inside when Miku wasn't looking. Once I eluded her line of sight, I entered the store with haste. It wasn't the most impressive store in terms of color, unless you think beige and brown were exciting colors, but it had an incredible selection of diamonds, rubies, and other lovely gems. I couldn't sightsee for too long; I was on a mission. I walked up to the counter and knocked on the top to signal the clerk. He turned around and welcomed me with a very warm smile. He seemed rather down to Earth and seemed like someone I could relate to.

"What can I get for you today, my friend?" He asked. I don't know this man, but I think he was just being nice, so I went with it.

"Well, my good man," I began, "I have my eye on that lovely charm necklace in the window over there."

"Are you sure? I don't think it would suit you at all. Perhaps a chain?" I hoped he was joking.

"N-no sir, I was buying it for someone else." I reassured him.

"Ah, it's for a girl. Of course it is." I knew he was a jokester after this.

"Yeah, I… kind of want to… ask her to… you know…"

"Ah, trying to ask her to be yours, I see."

"Yeah, and I saw that she really liked this necklace, so I hope this will be sufficient."

"Oh, is it that lovely lady with the long blue hair over there?" He could see Miku sitting at the table from where he was. Setting up shop near a food court is a great idea for a jeweler, since he can keep an eye on couples in the mall.

"Yes sir, she is." I blushed.

"Well then, I hear she's quite a singer. I heard her at the karaoke bar. She was phenomenal!"

"I know. Maybe I can personalize this thing a little bit to make it more for her!"

"Excellent idea, buddy. What would you like for it?" I thought for a moment.

"Do you have a piece in the shape of a musical note? That would be _perfect_ for her!" The clerk looked around for a minute and produced a sizable music note charm.

"Here you go. Now if that's everything, then that'll be… $500, please." My jaw dropped when I heard this price.

"Sheesh, I could buy an Xbox with that, but it's all worth it for her." I gave the man my card to swipe, I paid the amount and I walked out of the store with a beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl. I felt strangely nervous and excited at the same time. I was finally about to get somewhere with all of this, and it felt like today was the day that everything would change between me and Miku.

_Alright, time to make some magic._ I thought to myself.


	20. Chapter 20: Deal With the Date (Pt 2)

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 20**

I walked back to the food court from the jewelry store where I bought the necklace. I was limiting my speed for some reason. I was excited to give the piece to Miku, who was at a table awaiting my arrival, but at the same time, I was more nervous than I've felt in a long time. I soon worked up the courage to walk normally and go up to the table without a problem. Miku was looking around, and she didn't see me coming, but just to be safe, I kept the box with the necklace behind my back, as to not spoil the surprise I had planned.

"Hey there, I'm back!" I called to her as I arrived. She turned quickly with a bit of a shock in her motion. I guess I scared her. Oops.

"Oh, good, you're back!" Miku said after she turned around. "It's n-nice to see you again." She kind of blushed a little. Perhaps she was just red due to the fact that she was incredibly hungry. I took a seat in a seat next to her. She spoke again. "So did you get your errands done?"

"Uh yeah, I suppose I did." I said coyly.

"Did you get everything you wanted?" She asked.

"Well, Miku…" I began with a smile. "That part depends on you, actually."

"Huh? What are you talking about, GC? Why would it matter?" She seemed confused and interested at the same time, as well as blushing a little bit more. I couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Just close your eyes for me." I lightly said.

"A-again? What are you…?" Wow, it's as if every time I said a word, Miku blushed even more. She sounded skeptical about closing her eyes once again, but I had no intention of leaving. More like the opposite. It was time to let her know.

"Trust me, Miku. I'm not going anywhere. Just shut your eyes. It's okay." Miku eventually conceded to my request. She closed her eyes slowly and then it was time to make my move. I stood up carefully, and I saw Miku twitch in fear. "It's okay, it's okay! Trust me!" She relaxed and then I motioned my way behind her. I opened the box up as quietly as possible, and removed the necklace carefully. With one end in each hand, I slowly motioned the piece around her head and moved it lower around her neck. With an easy motion, I brought the two ends together and fastened them together. After a little assurance that it was secure, I moved my hands away and sat down quickly.

"GC…?" Miku's voice trembled a little.

"Okay, open 'em up." I requested, and she obeyed. She looked around a little bit.

"W-what did you do? I don't…"

"Why don't you look down?" I'm surprised she didn't feel the necklace on her. Her eyes drifted down to the bauble around her neck, and once she saw it, they lit up in disbelief and wonder.

"W-what is…" Miku could hardly speak.

"Do you remember that necklace you saw the last time we came here? You thought it was so pretty and you were just captivated by it. You really wanted it even though it was really out of your budget?"

"U-um…"

"Well I do. I saw how much you loved that necklace, and I remembered that you wanted it. I made it my mission to save up for it and get it for you the next time we came here." To be honest, I wasn't lying. I just was reminded about it after a while. Maybe the memory was knocked around when Miku nearly beat me to death. "This is my gift to you, Miku."

"I… you… you really got this for me?" Miku was in serious disbelief, but I could tell that she was happy. You couldn't tell me otherwise, since her face was beet red and her eyes were sparkling.

"Of course I did, Miku. I wanted today to be special for you, and what better way to do that then to give you a gift I knew you really wanted. I even made it special for you with that little music charm there." I pointed it out and she looked at it in bewilderment. "So what do you think?"

"I… I love it. I love it so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, GC! It's so beautiful! You seriously don't know how much this means to me!" Miku suddenly beamed.

"Well, you don't know how much you mean to me, Miku." I said with a smile and unwavering eye contact. I placed my hand on top of hers, which was on the table while the other one was still playing with the necklace. "And before you say anything, I know exactly what I said."

"GC…" Miku almost whispered.

"You pretty much mean the world to me, Miku. No scratch that. You mean every single part of the entire universe to me, and don't you dare forget that. I wanted you to be happy today, and I think I did a good job. Your happiness is my number one concern right now. I don't care about anything else right now except you and keeping that lovely smile on your face. I got that for you to show you that I care about you and that I'd do anything for you." Thankfully, Miku didn't seem like she would faint again, but her face was just about burnt up. Believe me, my face was erupting in blushing, too, but it's odd seeing it on her face.

"You've done so many great things for me and you've been so kind these past few weeks. Now I feel like I have to thank you for all you've done." Miku said to me, her voice strengthening a bit, but still sounding nervous.

"Miku, you know you don't have to do that." I replied. "Just the smile on your face is thanks enough."

"No GC. With this necklace, I can't just let it go anymore." Miku scooted her chair closer to mine. Neither one of us moved our hands from the table. In fact, I think Miku turned her hand over to take hold of mine. "I'm making sure I thank you for everything, and you aren't stopping me."

"Miku… I…" I lightly murmured. My heart raced faster than it has in a long time. I was worried that I'd faint this time. I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn't make my voice work.

Time almost stood still while we were like this. We looked into each other's eyes, and I could see Miku's eyes positively glittering; I couldn't look away from them even if I wanted to. There was also something about the way she looked at me. Her eyes were almost filled with desire and longing for something. I could feel my heart taking over my motor abilities and I felt my body leaning closer to Miku, ever so slightly, as to not alarm her. In the light of the afternoon sun, her blushing face was accentuated to it almost glowing, and I could feel a familiar form of attraction arising from her lips. They called to me once again, this time stronger than ever before. I noticed my body was moving just a little bit faster than I thought I was. At least that's what I thought was happening. I was too focused on Miku to notice the world around me. I felt Miku's grip on my hand tighten, and she grabbed my other hand as well. As I felt the added pressure on my right hand on the table, something came to mind. I wasn't the only one leaning forward! Eye contact wasn't lost for a minute or so, but then Miku's eyes began to close slowly, and once I looked at her lips once again, I could tell that this was happening. I moved forward with a little more enthusiasm, and moved closer to her puckered lips, as if they were magnetizing my own lips to them. I slowly shut my eyes and savored every precious second of this wonderful moment.

_I can't believe it! _I thought to myself. _This has to be the best day of my life, right now! Nothing at all could ruin this moment!_

"Well, well, well! If it ain't GC, here again!" A huge booming voice echoed though the food court. As soon as we heard this, we both cringed and retreated from what could have been the best kiss of my life.

"GOD DAMN IT! Why here? Why NOW?!" I asked out loud. A hulking mass of muscle and testosterone lumbered over to us. I knew this "gentleman" as Jack Donovan, the hugest douche I ever laid my eyes on. After what happened a while ago, Jack kept trying to disprove it and always tried to get me angry enough to fight him and show me up. I never conceded, but today I wasn't in the mood for his bullshit.

"Well now, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" Jack asked with a sarcastic tone. He knew what was happening, and he ruined it.

"Go away, Jack!" I ordered. "I don't have time for your bullshit today. I'm kind of in the middle of something here!"

"Oh you're right! Where are my manners?" Good question. "Hey there, babe. The name's Jack. What do I call you, besides a total hottie?" Miku said nothing to the foreboding presence before her.

"Leave her alone, Jack!" I was starting to lose my cool a little. I tried to fight it for Miku's sake. The last thing I wanted was for her to see me truly angry. I probably shouldn't have broken my composure like that though, because Jack used this as my weakness.

"Aw, that's no fun! Come here, baby!" He yanked Miku's arm up, forcing her into a standing position, and he looked at her up and down. I saw that she was scared, and my blood was beginning to boil. I breathed easily, though. Had to stay cool.

"You know, I don't think you're worth it at all, really." I twitched when he said that. How dare he? "You don't even have a good chest!" I saw Miku's face twitch after he said that.

"I'm telling you, lay off her!" I pleaded with an angry growl.

"Hey, you're right. I couldn't be too rude to the chairman of the 'Itty Bitty Titty Committee' over here." I saw Miku begin to enrage a bit too. I think she was doing her best to bite her tongue throughout this whole ordeal. After what happened the last time she lost her temper, this was a really good thing. I saw Jack's eyes drift down to look at the piece around Miku's neck. "Well now, what's this piece of garbage?" He grabbed the necklace and yanked it off of her, snapping the fasteners on the back.

"Hey, leave that alone!" Miku suddenly shouted in defense. I guess she was losing her battle.

"Oh, what? Is this ugly waste of metal important to you or something? That's pathetic!"

"I said GIVE IT BACK!" Miku yelled, and then she lunged at Jack, hoping to force him into releasing her gift. This accomplished nothing but her getting grabbed on the wrists forcefully.

"Hey, don't you try that shit on me, bitch!" Jack shoved her back into the table behind her, causing her to come crashing down on the floor. "That's right, know your place!" As he said that, I began to shake and my breathing became harsher and heavier. I felt like I was about to explode in a wall of outrageous fire. I was growling with each breath and I was ready to spring into action. If one more thing were to happen, I would just about lose it!

"P-please… just give it…back…" Miku said weakly. She was on her hands and knees, stunned from the impact.

"Wow, this really is important to you, isn't it?" Jack said with a boastful tone. "What if I were to do… THIS!" He thrust the necklace down to the floor with rigorous speed. I heard a tiny amount of cracking. Miku gasped in shock and horror as Jack lifted his foot up over the jewelry. "OR HOW ABOUT THIS!" Just as he said that, he slammed his foot down as hard as he could directly upon her present.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Miku shrieked in utter fear and defenselessness. Jack made it a point to crush each and every single charm on that necklace and then he kicked the mangled mess of what was once a beautiful piece over to the girl stunned in shock on the floor. My boiling point was just about reached. I was just about ready to lash out. My body was beginning to take over and my mind was filling with nothing but red and fire! My eyes were shut tightly as I fought back tears that were spawning from sheer anger and rage. What filled my ears next was sickening to the ears, and I could stand no more of the torture.

"No… no… i-its…" Miku forced her words out the best she could before she burst into tears, harder than I ever heard her cry ever. I couldn't believe that the necklace was really that meaningful to her. I would've felt flattered by this if I wasn't in my state of utter impending fury and lividness. My eyes burned, my muscles contracted, and I could feel my soul practically igniting, setting it ablaze with unbridled rage. I could feel Jack's bellowing laughter pierce my soul even more. Not only did he have the nerve to make the girl of my dreams cry, he had the audacity to begin laughing at her pain, mocking her suffering, and playing her agonizing sadness like it was the biggest joke in the world.

I couldn't handle it anymore. I rose from my seat slowly.

_I'm sorry about this, Miku._ I thought. _This man WILL PAY!_


	21. Chapter 21: Burning Rage Unleashed

**True Harmony**

**Chapter 21**

My blood was on fire, my vision was blurred by never ending torrents of red, my muscles were clenched and flexing to near superhuman levels, and my target was the dead motherfucker laughing in the face of my best friend.

Miku was bawling her eyes out over her lost necklace, and Jack wasn't letting up with his torturing.

"BAH HAHAHA! THAT'S IT, GIRL! CRY! CRY YOUR DAMN EYES OUT! YOU'RE NOTHING, AND YOU KNOW IT, BITCH!" Every laugh he made stung my heart and fueled the flames in my soul without any mercy. I stood up slowly and quietly, yet with force and haste, so you know that shit was about to go down. My mind was just bellowing messages of hate toward him.

"NOW TO MAKE YOU SHUT UP FOR GOOD!" Jack lifted his hand to prepare an attack upon Miku. Normally Miku would be able to defend herself in this situation, but her tears were blinding her, and her body still hurt after getting thrown into a food court table. All she could do was look up in horror and scream. Jack continued to laugh, now even harder. "BAH HAHAHAHAHA! AAAH HAHAHAHAH-"

_**POW!**_

I could take no more of what was unfolding, and with a scream of anger, I unloaded an insanely powerful punch in the dead center of his face. He screamed in pain and flew backwards. He looked up and was shocked to see his assailant.

"W-what?!" Jack asked aloud. I stood before him, fuming with intense rage. I was breathing heavily with anger, like a lion about to strike. I inhaled deeply and blasted a deafening roar that could have echoed through the entire mall, and I charged at my prey with blinding speed. Before he could react to it, I attacked him once more across the face, and I unloaded a vicious combination of attacks on him without any amount of letting up on him. The man flew around the room and ricocheted like a pinball every time I sent him in a different direction. Each swing of my fists was accentuated with a loud, sharp grunt, further releasing the beast residing in my soul. I blasted him high in the air with a launching donkey kick, and once he peaked, I slammed him back to the floor with a sharp elbow in the center of his back, releasing a horrid cracking sound of his spine. He was on the ground as I threw my hands out behind my back. I thrust one fist forward, then another one, then another, and I pumped them faster and faster, and then I bellowed the title of my powered up signature technique.

"BARE-KNUCKLE BARRAGE!" I roared, and with it came a blinding flurry of punches that pummeled my opponent with no mercy. I've taught myself over time to move my arms in an almost impossibly fast velocity, and yet contain the force of any powerful punches. No one has been able to resist this attack's might. The fire in my soul coursed through my veins. The flames reached all the way to my fingertips, and I felt my hands practically igniting in the air like a reactive match against the friction of the air. Jack was trapped in the vicious storm of punches raining down upon him. With one final double fisted attack, he was sent careening in the other direction, and when he landed, he was practically gasping for breath and almost unable to stand. He worked up the nerve to speak.

"W-why are y-you doing this?" He asked me weakly. I was disgusted by his ignorance.

"Let me spell it out for you in a way that your tiny mind can cope with!" I spoke with a growl in my voice, and it was a deep, serious sounding voice as well. "You can mess with me all you want to. You can laugh at me, poke me, push me around, or whatever; I'll just laugh it off, or just walk away." I tightened my grip in my fist a little bit. "Never mess with my friends. There will be hell to pay." I walked towards him slowly. "Don't ever hurt the people I care about or the people I love. I will make them suffer no matter what." I was right near him. I looked down upon him and my gaze was as fiery as my flying fists of flaming fury. "Let me let you in on something right now, you ungrateful son of a bitch!" I picked his sorry ass up, held him by his collar, looked him straight in the eye, and spoke to him in a voice so powerful and fearsome, it would have struck fear in the heart of the devil himself.

"Never...ever…ever…_ever_!"

"Make…"

"Miku…"

"_CRY!_" I roared. Jack's eyes widened in fear, and before he could let out another word, I unloaded a head-butt that could've shattered his skull like a farm fresh egg. He lurched backwards in pain as he screamed in said pain, and there was nothing about to stop me from dishing out more pain. An unrelenting storm of punches, kicks, and other strikes rained down upon my opponent, and I rammed him into the wall like a truck against a deer. I took his cranium in my grip, and continually slammed it into the side of the wall, and saw him collapse on the floor once again after that assault. He was even harder of breathing and was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Cuts had opened up and he was more bruised than a banana dropped down a flight of stairs. He decided to try talking to me again.

"I'm…I'm… sorry…I really…am…" Jack said through his weak breathing. I looked down upon him once again.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" I asked him, still enraged. "I'm not the one you made cry and it wasn't my necklace you smashed! I'm just the one taking revenge on it!" Jack, realizing what I was hinting, crawled over to Miku with the last of his energy. He held a kneeling position and began begging.

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" Jack began. "I'm sorry! I know what I did was wrong! I get it. Please, just forgive me!" Miku looked at him like she couldn't believe her eyes at the sight that had befallen her. She looked shocked and disgusted at the same time.

"You laughed in my face, you insulted me, hurt me, and the worst part was that you destroyed one of the best gifts I ever received. I can't forgive anyone like you for what you've done." Miku said defiantly. The message rang out to everyone.

"W-WHAT?" Jack was outraged. I walked up behind him and prepared my retort.

"That's all I needed to hear!" I grabbed Jack by the back of his neck again, and resumed bludgeoning him left and right, each strike more devastating than the last. With an unbelievably strong kick directed at his midsection, Jack wound up on the ground weaker than ever. He coughed up blood, he was breathing with stunted breath, and he was positively mangled. Once more he tried to console me. This was getting tiresome.

"P-p-please… have… mercy…" He sputtered. "I p-promise I'll leave you alone… for good now… I'll n-never bother y-you again… Please… j-just spare me!" He was begging me for a second chance? Where does he get the gall?

"Look at yourself." I taunted. "What happened to all of that confidence you had? You had it all, right? You were ready to take me on and prove you could take me down. What happened to all of that, huh? You're on the ground, beaten, maimed, and cowering in fear. You've shown me who you really are under that shroud. You're nothing but SCUM! I hate people like you, and they should all be destroyed! You don't deserve mercy! I'm finished with you! I'll finish this now, ONCE AND FOR ALL!" I charged at him and pounded him back and forth across the face at blinding speed. I halted to prepare my final assault. With one final mighty roar, I felt the power flowing to my fist. I reared back, screeched with an unmatchable amount of volume, and I moved in for the kill!

"GC! STOP!" I felt a hand grab my shoulder as a voice called out from the beyond. It was Miku, trying to snap me back into reality. I felt her grip on my arm through my enraged stupor, and I immediately froze in shock and fear. I looked at her and saw the fear in her eyes. "Please, you've done enough! It's okay. Just stop now." Miku said to calm me down. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I turned my back on Jack to hide them.

"Okay, you want mercy? Fine, you can have it!" I said, fighting my sobs. "But I want you to get away. Run away, Jack. I never want to see your face again." I clenched my fists in strain. "If I ever see you again, I swear to God that I WILL finish the job! Understand?" There was silence for a few seconds.

"Th-thank you." Jack stammered. "Seriously, y-you don't know how much I appreciate th-"

"Just get out of here!" Miku ordered.

"B-but!"

"NOW, DAMN IT! GO BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!" I turned and lashed out at Jack. That got him to jump and he bolted from the scene.

"Good riddance." Miku said as Jack turned the corner. She looked at me and saw my state. "GC? Are you okay?"

I was on my knees, breathing heavily, and muttering to myself in terror. "No. Nonono, this can't be happening again! I thought I could control it, but… Oh God, why? Why is this… Why are you… No no nonononono, why?"

"Hey, GC i-it's o-" Miku began to say.

"Don't come any closer!" I demanded. "I'm out of control. I lost it. I-I'm dangerous, Miku. I'M SORRY!" The tears I held back as best I could soon poked their way through. I felt immeasurably guilty over what I had done in front of her. "I saw it in your eyes, Miku. You were afraid of me. I scared you. I'm sorry, Miku! It's out of my hands. I thought it was, but…" I started crying harder to the point of indiscernible speech patterns. I was indeed a wreck, and there was barely any way for me to get out of it. I looked in my hands, those dastardly weapons of mine, and saw the pain I caused with them. Suddenly a second pair of hands reached down and took them lightly.

"GC, calm down. I'm right here." Miku told me. She helped stand me up by gently. "Stop being so hard on yourself; it's okay. I promise you."

"B-but I… I went crazy… I saw that I scared you…"

"I was a little scared, but I don't care about that. All I care about right now is that you're okay and that's it. I understand that whole thing with anger, you know. You saw what I did a couple of days ago, and that was just an over exaggerated temper tantrum."

"But Miku, I didn't stop myself like you did. I was seriously about to kill him. I don't think you understand what I'm dealing with, since this was more than just a simple tantrum about him hurting you. It released my dark side. My rage has almost manifested into its own form and it takes over whenever I get too angry. The darkness overtakes my body and causes me to do things like that. I thought I was able to control it, but I guess he still wants to gain control. I-I'm honestly scared of it." My eyes watered again. Suddenly, Miku placed her hands on my shoulders and gripped them gently.

"GC, look at me." Miku ordered. I looked in her eyes, and they held a stern expression, like there was nothing but seriousness emanating from her."Don't be afraid of it with me here. I promise you that I won't leave because of this. I mean you didn't when I lashed out, and I was even attacking you. What kind of person would that make me if I left because of this? Besides, you just said that you did that because he hurt me, right?"

"Once I heard you start crying, I couldn't hold back anymore." I admitted.

"Well then, I think you were in more control than you think. I didn't see someone different when I looked at you. I saw that you were trying to protect me, and to be honest, I can't thank you enough for that. It showed to me that you really care." Miku's expression warmed up, and her voice followed suit. "I know we say this all the time, but no matter what happens, we'll always be there for each other, right? This will be no different. You told me after my episode that you'd help me out with my anger. Now it looks like I can say that to you, too. Just like you told me, we'll get through this together. I'm happy that you're okay, but I'm even happier to know that you're there for me and that I can count on you to pick me up when I'm down and protect me when I need it. Like I said before, GC, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me." She pulled me in for a warm, tight hug which lasted about a minute or so. I didn't want to move during that time. I just wanted to be close to her, which was a blissful feeling in itself.

"Thank you, Miku. You're the best." I said softly near her ear, as we were still in each other's arms, and she giggled at this. Suddenly something else came to my mind after we let each other go. "I'm still so sorry about the necklace. I can't believe he did that!"

"It's alright. If anything, I should be sorry, since you went through a lot to get it for me." Miku replied. "It was so pretty, and I appreciate you giving it to me. It meant so much to me."

"I'm glad you liked it, Miku." I noticed the leftover piece in the wreckage. "Hey, it looks like the extra music note charm is still fine." I went over to pick it up, and it certainly was fine, albeit a little scratched after the beating the rest of the piece took. Suddenly, inspiration struck me like a lightning bolt. "THAT'S IT! I've got an idea. Wait right here, Miku. I'll be back." When she gave the okay, I ran back off to the jewelry store, this time prepared to make a previously suggested purchase.

I got there and the clerk told me he saw everything that happened. He didn't do anything about it because his phone was down and he didn't have anyone else working that day. Apparently a "Be Back Soon" sign was out of the question? After some minor back and forth about it, we eventually got down to business. I decided on buying a chain that would allow me to connect the charm I had to it. It was the nicest chain that I could find for her, and that was enough for me. I paid the man, and then ran back to my friend, not even caring that he didn't give me a refund. After my actions from earlier, I doubt that I deserve it anyway. I made it back to Miku and gave her the straight scoop.

"Well the bad news is that they were out of the necklace I got you earlier." I began.

"Aw, that's too bad. Well it's alri-"

"Let me finish. The good news is that I found something just as good, I think. I'll skip the whole 'close your eyes' thing and I'll just say I want you to have this." I held out the new necklace to her. It was a lovely silver chain with very small links, almost looking like string, and right on the bottom of it was the music charm, revitalized by the jeweler, who offered to clean it up for nothing. Her eyes lit up once she saw it. "I understand it isn't as pretty as the other one, but…"

"It's beautiful, GC." Miku said suddenly. "This is perfect!"

"I-it is? Really?"

"Uh huh. See, the first one meant a lot because you knew I loved it, but this one is even more meaningful because you made it for me. It's extra special now!"

"Heh, an extra special necklace for an extra special girl." I sheepishly said. We both blushed and smiled at each other. "And… thanks again for understanding. You know, about earlier?"

"I told you, GC. It's okay." Miku said with a smile, and her next words stuck with me. "You can trust me, you know that." I thought for a few seconds about these words, and I suddenly realized something.

"I can trust you." I said to myself. "I DO trust you!" I suddenly decided that it was time to go all out for today. It was time to unveil my greatest secret to Miku. I turned to face her, took her hands and looked her dead in the eye.

"Miku, come with me. There's something I need to show you." I spoke with a firm seriousness.

"W-what? Why? Why not here?" Miku seemed shocked.

"Because, this is something I can't show you here. This is something I need to show you and you alone. Please come with me."

"O-okay…GC." She reluctantly agreed and I led her out of the mall, her hand in mine, but more like the first time when I was leading her to the karaoke joint.

I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to pull this off. I feared that this would make or break the two of us together, but I was prepared to go to any lengths to show how much she means to me, even if it meant unmasking myself to her.

I was prepared to show her the truth, and this meant showing her my greatest secret and my greatest power.


End file.
